Harry Potter And The Bonds Of Hearts
by Sweet Honey-sempai
Summary: Petunia and Harry go back to Hogwarts and the 2nd War. Death, destruction, secrets, and betrayal follow, as well as new and unexpected allies, old and new romances, and the hope of those bringing forth a new era with just the bonds of their hearts.
1. The Attack

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

The Attack

* * *

Harry stared at the letter in his hands. It was from the Wizarding Examination Authority. These were his O.W.L grades, the ones he had been waiting a month for.

How appropriate that they came on the day before his 16th birthday. Nice early birthday gift.

His eyes scanned the letter again.

* * *

Dear Harry James Potter, 

Enclosed, please find your Ordinary Wizarding Levels results.

Astronomy: Theory-E. Practical-P. Overall: A. Ability to Continue Course: Permitted.

Care of Magical Creatures: Theory-O. Practical-O. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Charms: Theory-O. Practical-E. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Defense Against The Dark Arts: Theory-O. Practical-O. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Divination: Theory-T. Practical-T. Overall: T. Ability to Continue Course: Not permitted.

Herbology: Theory-O. Practical-E. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

History of Magic: Theory/Practical-T. Overall-T. Ability to Continue Course: Not permitted.

Potions: Theory-A. Practical-E. Overall-E. Ability to Continue Course: Not permitted.

Transfiguration: Theory-E. Practical-O. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Complete Student Average: E

Good luck in your next year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Sincerely,

Professor Griselda Marchbanks

Head of Wizarding Education Authority

* * *

Harry still couldn't believe he had managed to land an E in Potions. He could only assume he had some friends in high places, even though it wasn't enough to land him a spot in the N.E.W.T class. Apart from that, he wasn't quite surprised with the grades he got, especially in Defense Against The Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures.

Suddenly, he thought of how Sirius would've reacted upon seeing his report card. He would've shrugged off History of Magic and Divination, calling them the two most useless divisions of magic. He would've commended Harry as a chip of the old block, landing an O in Transfiguration, which was what James was known for, and another O in Charms, which was Lily's best subject. He would've laughed about Harry putting one over on Snape, attaining a pass but not attending his class either. He would've been so proud of Harry's Overall E.

He thought of the Durselys, eating dinner downstairs. Vernon would be drinking and spluttering about his company, Petunia would be right across the table, eyes shining and nodding her bony head up and down until she bore a hole in her collar bone, and Dudley would be eating everything, even right off his mother's plate.

These people he had lived with for 15 years. When had they ever shown the kind of interest in his life that Sirius had, the man that Harry had accused of killing his parents the instant he met him? When had Petunia, Lily's own blood sister, shown the kind of concern that Sirius, an outsider from a pro-Voldemort family, had showered him with? Why did he have to live here year after year, when he could have gone with Sirius? Maybe he would've realized that Sirius had not been in any danger; that he hadn't needed to go to the Department of Mysteries.

He knew the reason. Life here kept him alive. Because of Petunia, he was still alive. Voldemort wouldn't dare come near here. Voldemort could only kill him physically, as in beating him to death. He still couldn't kill him magically, as long as Petunia was alive.

Harry turned his eyes to the other letter. This one was from Minerva McGonagall.

* * *

Dear Harry James Potter, 

Enclosed, please find your list of school books for your 6th year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, according to the O.W.L result you received. Kindly send a list of classes that you are willing to pursue to Hogwarts.

Also, due to the current world situation, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions have become mandatory classes, regardless of O.W.L. results.

The list is as follows:

Reading The Stars by Andromeda Tonks

Lifestyles of Fantastic Creatures by Philip Wolfgang

Practical and Extraordinary Charms by Grace Meir

Defensive and Offensive Magic by Osbourn Bailey

Salts of the Earth by Jasmine Noam

Moste Potente Potions by Thorpe Everett

Shape-Shifting of Magical Objects by Julia Grant

* * *

Harry reread the list. Moste Potente Potions, eh? He wondered if they'd be brewing some Polyjuice Potion. God knows that he, Hermione, and Ron would pass Potions this year. All of them, even Ron, had practically memorized that book.

He looked at the author of his Astronomy book. Andromeda Tonks. Nymphadora's mother and Sirius's favorite cousin.

He might as well take it, he thought, just out of respect for Sirius. After all, Sirius's entire family was named after stars. It really wasn't surprising that Andromeda had written a book about it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud hoot from Hedwig and the furious beating of wings. He whirled around in the tattered, revolving chair he had inherited from Dudley to see another owl practically breaking the glass at his window.

"Pigwidgeon?" he said out loud, recognizing Ron's owl. He unlatched his window and allowed the breathless owl to flop into his room.

He took the letter from the slot on Pigwidgeon's ankle. It was a Howler. As he wondered what he possibly could've done wrong, he noticed a dark red splotch on it, different than the color of the Howler. It looked like blood.

His stomach dropped out as he tore open the letter. Hermione's panic-stricken voice yelled:

"Harry, get away from there now! The Death Eaters are coming to kill your aunt! They found the Order's HQ and blew it apart, but they got Sirius's mother's portrait to tell them were you are first! Get your family and run NOW, or you'll all be dead! They'll get here right after Pigwidgeon does! GO! NOW!!"

Harry shoved the letter in his pocket and immediately went for Hedwig.

"Hedwig, take Pig and get to Diagon Alley. Don't leave once you get there."

Hedwig clipped her beak. She floated across the room, picked Pig up by the back with her talons, and soared out the open window. She disappeared into the night.

He snatched up his wand, muttering "_Accio _Broomstick! _Accio_ Cloak! _Accio_ photo album!"

Once the Firebolt, that Invisibility Cloak, and photo album of his family were in his hand, he muttered a shrinking charm and shoved them all in his pocket. He swiped his two letters and shoved them in his other pocket.

Then he ran.

He thundered down the stairs, nearly tripping as he took them two at a time. He rounded the banister, through the living room, and burst into the kitchen.

"What are you doing, boy?" Vernon snapped, seeing him come in. "Thought you weren't hungry! Well, it's too late if you want food now."

"It's Voldemort!" Harry yelled.

All talk ceased. Petunia stared at him, her eyes nearly falling out of her head. Only she and Harry among the four in this house knew what Voldemort truly meant. Her mind was flashing to the letter Dumbledore had left her.

__

Your sister is dead…as long as you're alive, Harry will live…

"He's sent his followers! They know where we are, and they're going to kill Aunt Petunia to get to me!"

Vernon only understood "kill Aunt Petunia". He stood up, his chair falling backwards. "Get out, boy! Your freaky kind won't kill my wife!"

"Vernon, you don't understand!" Petunia yelled suddenly. "If Harry leaves my side, he'll die!"

"And the world's better off without him!" Vernon yelled, masking his surprise at Petunia's outburst.

"Look, if you won't do it for me, then I suppose you might want to do it for the fact that Voldemort's supporters have absolutely no problem in killing all of you!" Harry exploded. "They'll think it's nice practice to kill a couple of Muggles!"

At this, Petunia let out a terrified squeak. "Vernon, Dudley, you two run. I'll take Harry and get away from here!"

"No!" Vernon was turning purple. "Let the boy run alone, I won't risk having you—"

"I'M NOT LETTING HARRY DIE!!"

There was absolute silence, as Harry, Vernon, and Dudley stared at Petunia. Instead of looking ashamed or horrified, there was an air of determined control about her that none of the men wanted to defy.

"Vernon, Dudley, get out of this house now. Go to Marge's." she said. "Harry, you're coming with me."

There was a loud explosion just outside. The glass in the living room shattered.

"Quickly! Now!"

She spun around to the counter and grabbed something. And without a further glance in her son and husband's direction, she sped around the table and grabbed Harry's arm. She gave him a sharp tug that knocked the wind out of him and sped out the back door.

She stopped in the middle of the backyard and turned to face Harry.

"Your broomstick," she said shortly. "Get it out."

"How'd you know—"

"I'm not stupid and neither are you. I know you have it, and I recognize a shrinking charm."

"How—"

"Never mind that now, boy. Just get it out."

Harry fumbled in his jeans pocket for the shape of the Firebolt. He finally felt bristles, like those on a toothbrush, and pulled it out. He held the mini-broom by the stick and muttered the Engorgement Charm. It immediately expanded into its normal size.

"Did Dumbledore give you that Invisibility Cloak of your father's? And don't even bother asking how I know, just answer me."

"Yes."

"Get it out." Harry felt around for a piece of cloth, pulled it out, and enlarged it.

"Get on the broom."

Harry positioned himself on the broom, and felt the weight of his aunt as she settled herself behind him. She grabbed an edge of the Invisibility Clock and threw it over herself as Harry tugged his end over his own head.

"Now, go."

Harry braced his feet on the ground and went to kick off.

Nothing.

"Harry!" Petunia screeched.

He turned around. Holding onto the tail of the Firebolt, the only visible part, was a Death Eater. He couldn't see who it was, since his face was covered, but he had a sinking suspicion it was Lucius Malfoy.

Petunia grabbed up what she had taken from the counter. To Harry's amazement, it was a wooden stirring spoon.

'Oh my God,' he thought wildly. 'Does she honestly believe she can scare off—'

"_Petrificus Totalus_!"

Harry was once again wrenched from his thoughts as the Death Eater suddenly froze up. Even his eyes were still behind the slits in his mask.

Petunia kicked him off the broom and he fell with a thud onto the lawn. Petunia turned back to Harry.

"What are you waiting for, fool?! GO! NOW!"

Too amazed to say anything, Harry kicked off from the ground and the Firebolt, seemingly unaware of the extra weight, took off from the Dursely's backyard.

Loud explosions and terrified screams were heard behind them, but neither of them looked back as they disappeared into the night sky clouds.

* * *

I'm SOOO grateful to all my HPATBOH fans that will re-read/review the story. There have been big changes, so please keep reading!  



	2. The Price of Surviving

Disclaimer-Read the first one

* * *

The Price of Surviving

* * *

Petunia was silent on the flight, and Harry couldn't seem to open his mouth to ask questions. Petunia had a death grip on her spoon.

Harry remembered the Hagrid hid his snapped wand in his umbrella and used it for everyday things like charming his house or opening Diagon Alley. But when had Aunt Petunia ever had a wand?

"Where are we going?" she asked suddenly.

"Diagon Alley," Harry said, without thinking. "I sent Hedwig there. We're meeting with Fred and George."

"Who?"

"Oh yeah, that's right, you never bothered to find out who they are," Harry said bitterly. Petunia didn't answer. "They're my best friend's older twin brothers. You know, the ones who left the candy for Dudley, that made his tongue grow?"

"Oh…oh, yes, I remember," she said, and then muttered something. Harry couldn't hear all that she said, but he thought he heard "James" and "Sirius" thrown in there.

He supposed she was making yet another insult to his dead father and didn't say anything, just urged the Firebolt on faster.

* * *

Harry touched down in London just in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He muttered the shrinking charm from earlier and stuffed his broom in his pocket.

The Leaky Cauldron was padlocked closed. Swearing under his breath, he pointed his wand and whispered, "_Alohomora_!"

A stream of yellow light emitted from his wand, and the padlock fell open.

He shoved open the door and ran to the back, Petunia following him. He emerged from the pub and into the courtyard.

As Petunia shut the door behind her, Harry tapped the brick that would allow them entrance into Diagon Alley.

As the bricks moved away, Harry thought sourly that usually this was a welcome sight, the sprawling street lined with shops, bursting with activity.

Now, it seemed unusually closed-in and quiet. It seemed almost…dead.

"Harry!" someone screeched.

He turned to look to a shop, where he heard the voice. Hobbling out of the doorway, using a stick for a crutch, a bandage around her forehead and right eye, was Hermione Granger.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, running towards her.

"Hermione, don't!" someone yelled, and he saw George come out. He, as Harry thankfully noticed, was perfectly fine. "You can't run around just after this!"

Hermione ignored George's call as she continued to run to Harry. He caught her mid-way by the arms.

"Hermione, what happened?" he asked.

"Oh, Harry!" she wailed, and flung her arms around him, throwing her crutch aside. She burst into tears on his shirt. "You're safe! You're safe!"

"I'm fine, Hermione, I'm okay," Harry said soothingly, as she continued weeping into his chest.

"The Death Eaters…they found HQ…and they…they…" She was unable to finish.

George finally caught up with them. "Harry, get inside. Fred's in there, taking care of everyone else. Hermione, come on love, get back inside."

"No!" she yelled, and clung tighter to Harry. "Not without Harry!"

"Hermione, he's coming with us," George said patiently.

Hermione looked up at Harry, her face tear-streaked and her eyes bloodshot. "Harry, stay with me, please, don't leave me…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Hermione," Harry said comfortingly, squeezing her.

"Come on, get inside," George said, leading Harry, Hermione, and Petunia towards the shop he had run after Hermione from. A large, red sign was painted above the door, reading: "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes".

But inside, all the practical joke paraphernalia was locked up in glass cabinet, and all around the floor were bodies. Some were unconscious, some were moaning in their sleep, and others were wide awake, biting their lips so as to not scream.

"Harry!" a raspy voice whispered, and Harry turned to see Ron leaning against the corner. He was wrapped from head to toe in bandages and looked sickeningly like a mummy.

"Ron!" he yelled, starting for him.

"Harry, no!" someone yelled, and Fred suddenly appeared. "Ron just stopped bleeding, you might start it up again!

"Fred, what happened? Why is everyone hurt?!" Harry demanded.

Fred sighed and magicked up three chairs. "Sit down, all three of you."

Harry sat down in one. Hermione, still clinging to his torso, sat in the other and leaned over onto him. Petunia took the last one.

"George and I were over here, waiting for news from Mum about an Order meeting. We couldn't go; too risky. But instead we get Errol, with a Howler saying that the Death Eaters attacked Grimmauld Place and that the old hag, Sirius's mum, told them where you live, and that Death Eaters were going to attack yours and Hermione's house. You know, kill off as many Order members as possible."

"So we went to Grimmauld to get back whoever was there," George cut in. "By the time we got everyone back, your owl and Pig had come. But there was no note, so we thought…we thought…"

Fred cleared his throat. "That's what we know."

"Harry, it was…it was awful!" Hermione yelled. "The Death Eaters came to my house…they…they killed my mum and dad…and they tried to get information out of me…like where Tonks and Moody are…I wouldn't tell them…they tried to kill me, they thought they did…" She shuddered violently.

"Hermione's house was set up to the Floo Network, so she got to us that way," George said. "She told us she'd sent a Howler to you from upstairs, while downstairs…they were…"

"THEY KILLED MY PARENTS!" Hermione shrieked. Harry held her tighter as her sobs grew stronger and rakish.

"What happened at your end?" Fred asked.

"Pig showed up with Hermione's Howler," Harry said. "I sent Hedwig and Pig to you guys. I went downstairs to warn my relatives. I don't know where my uncle and cousin are. But my aunt here came with me. A Death Eater—I think it was Lucius Malfoy—tried to stop us but sh—he got Petrified." He had almost said "she Petrified him". "I took the Firebolt to get us here."

"Good," Fred said. "Now, if we can get owls to the other Order members…thank God not everyone was there."

"W-who was there?" Harry asked. "Who—who di—" he couldn't bring himself to ask who had died.

The twins knew what he was saying. "Well, there were Hermione's parents," Fred said. "And I'm sure we're all glad to know Kreacher bit the big one."

"Harry, they killed Bill," Hermione said. "And Percy."

"Percy? What was he—?"

"Apologizing," Fred said shortly. "He had finished when they attacked…he fought them. One of them tried to _use Avada Kedavra_ on Mum—and he took it for her."

"Percy, my baby, my little perfect Percy," a small voice said in the back. Harry could see Molly sitting against the far wall, her arms held as if she were cradling a baby. "My Bill, my big, strong Bill."

"Mum's regressed 20 years," George said. "She won't accept it. She thinks that they're just babies."

A small sniffling sound was heard. Harry's eyes glanced over. Petunia looked like she was barely controlling herself. A lone thought, "Why?", wandered across Harry's otherwise blank mind.

"They seemed to want to torture us first. You know, build their egos before they kill us. Well, as for injuries, we think Dad's got some damage and Mum…well, you've seen her," Fred said. "Ron's lost a lot of blood, and so has Ginny…We're not sure if she's going to make it."

"Why aren't you taking them to St. Mungo's?!" Harry yelled.

"Too dangerous," George said. "Death Eaters could be watching the Floo Network. They just might decide to finish us off now. We have some blood-stopping potions we learned in school for Ron and Ginny, but we don't know if it'll help Ginny. Dad's got a lot of broken bones and some spell damage. And Mum…there's nothing physically wrong with her, she's just mad with grief."

"Does St. Mungo's have a Floo connection?" Petunia asked suddenly.

"Yeah, but we told you, it's too risky."

"Use Harry's Invisibility Cloak," Petunia said breezily, as if she were discussing weather.

Fred looked at her. "Aren't you Harry's aunt, that old hag who made him sleep in a cupboard?"

"That's Petunia Dursely to you," Petunia said, with a sniff.

"Petunia?!" Molly exclaimed from the wall. She still sounded dazed. "Petunia Evans?! My word, how time flies! Remember me? Molly Prewett?"

"Yes, Molly, I remember you," Petunia said, and her voice was kind, like when she was giving Dudley sweets.

"Aunt Petunia, just how—"

"Not the time, Harry," Petunia said. "Get your Cloak."

Harry fished his Cloak from his pocket and enlarged it.

"Right, now, we'll take Ron first. You two, get him here," she said to Fred and George. "There we go…easy does it…"

Fred and George managed to get a wincing Ron to stand up. Harry threw his cloak to the twins, who wrapped it around their brother and themselves.

"Come back with the Cloak!" Petunia said, as the three went for the fireplace.

"We're not stupid, Mrs. Dursely," Fred said, and the three disappeared in a flash of green flame as George yelled "St. Mungo's Hospital!" Soon, Fred and George reappeared with the Cloak.

It went like that for everyone else. Molly went peaceably, still cradling the imaginary baby. Arthur was hard to stand up, and he groaned horribly as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Ginny was absolutely heartbreaking to carry, her almost 15-year-old body tiny and limp in Fred's arms, blood running down her forehead.

"Hermione, it's time to go," Petunia said.

"Harry, stay with me," Hermione begged.

"I'm not going anywhere else," Harry said, as Petunia spread the cloak around herself, Harry, Hermione, Fred, and George, and were transported to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.


	3. St Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies

Disclaimer-Read the first one

* * *

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

* * *

Harry threw off the Invisibility Cloak as he heard the bustle of a hospital. Hermione was still clinging to his torso.

He jogged towards the receptionist's counter, Hermione limping on her good leg.

"Miss!" Harry yelled, stopping in front of the counter. "Miss, my friend, she needs to get to the fourth floor."

"Another for the fourth floor!" the witch said, indignant. "We've had quite a time of it, getting enough stretchers! What have you been doing?"

"You don't wanna know," Harry said, as two floating witches carried a stretcher into the lobby.

"Harry, please don't leave me, I don't wanna be alone, Harry, please!" Hermione begged.

"Hermione, Hermione, listen, listen. Shhh." He shook her gently. "I'm going to stay in St. Mungo's. I promise I will not leave this building. And I'll see you as soon as I can. All right?"

"Promise me?"

"On my mother's grave," Harry said.

Hermione's eye filled with tears. "All…all right."

She allowed the two witches to help her on the stretcher, and then she disappeared behind the revolving doors.

"She fancies you, apparently," Petunia said quietly.

Harry whipped around. "And you! You, with your magical stirring spoon and you knowing about the Floo Network and you saying you won't let them kill me! What are you playing at?!"

"Harry, shut up, don't cause a disturbance!"

"That's all I ever do, isn't it?! Cause a disturbance! I've been a nuisance to you since you took me in! If you hated me that much, why didn't you just throw me out?!"

"Harry, I don't hate you."

"Yeah? Well, you've done a pretty good impersonation of it these past 15 years!"

Petunia opened her mouth, but was cut off.

"Just forget it! Just leave me alone! I hate you!"

There was complete silence. Petunia stared at Harry with wide, flabbergasted eyes and he stared back at her, his green eyes cold with fury and hate.

__

"Just forget it! Just leave me alone! I hate you!"

"Petunia, come on, honey, just go back to your dorm, Amelia and Hestia will look after you—"

"No! Stay away from me! I never want to see you again!"

"Petunia!"

"GO AWAY!"

"Do you want to know why my stirring spoon did magic, Harry?" Petunia asked quietly.

Harry didn't say anything, just stared at her with cold hatred.

"Because, Harry, like Lily, I am…a witch."

"I was wondering if you were ever going to tell him, Petunia," an old, raspy voice said from nowhere.

"Dumbledore!" Harry and Petunia yelped as one.

"How'd you get here?" Harry demanded.

"Fred Weasley sent me an owl," Dumbledore said. "I arrived as soon as Alastor Moody would let me go."

"Moody's been with you?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Dumbledore turned his eyes to Petunia. "Now, Petunia, I believe you were about to give Harry an epiphany."

"Yes, sir," Petunia said. She turned back to face Harry.

"I don't know why you both are messing with me like this, but I'm not going to put up with—"

"Shut up, Harry, and give me two minutes," Petunia said, with such force that Harry did shut up. "My stirring spoon did magic because my old wand is the stem. I threw out everything wizardesque when I left Hogwarts except my wand. I thought I might need it."

"You told me that you were never magical, and you would've killed yourself if you were!"

"I lied, Harry. I've been lying to you since you were dropped on my doorstep." Petunia grimaced. "I never wanted to do magic again after I left Hogwarts."

"Wait, wait, just hold on," Harry said. "Go back to Hogwarts."

"My mother and father were Muggles, Harry, but Lily and I were Beamers...that's the polite term for Mudblood. We're twins, which I'm sure you never knew, so we started our first year together. She, Amelia Bones, Marlene McKinnon, Emmeline Vance, Hestia and Diana Jones, Alice Goyle, Molly Prewett, and I were the best of friends, and inseparable. Molly Caleb is your friend Ron's mother, Alice Goyle married Frank Longbottom, and Diana Jones married Apollo Lovegood, I believe. Emmeline and Hestia were together, but I don't know what came out of it. All of us were so close, it was scary."

"Well, if you had such a wonderful time then, why'd you leave?" Harry shot at her.

Petunia winced. "There were...circumstances, ones that I couldn't get past, so I left the school at the end of 7th year, just before graduation. Lily wanted me to stay, so we wound up having a huge argument. I told her she didn't understand, and if she wasn't going to understand, she wouldn't be my sister. I left it like that with her. I didn't graduate, I didn't go to her wedding, and I wasn't there when you were born. She wrote to me, but I never wrote back."

"And what were these "circumstances" that made you disown my mother?" Harry asked angrily.

"That, Harry, is not your business," Petunia said stiffly.

"Oh, and you going to Hogwarts wasn't my business?!"

"I told you, I gave up magic when I left. I found a man who was as unlike magic as possible and married him, had his child, and settled down. The last I ever heard of Lily was the letter Dumbledore left me when you were brought to my door."

"Letter? What letter?" Harry looked suspiciously from Dumbledore to Petunia.

"I wrote a letter to your aunt and uncle, explaining what had happened," Dumbledore said. "In the letter, I asked that she take you in for your own protection, as I explained to you in June. I also told her that Lily had listed her as the godmother."

"Even though I hadn't spoken to her for years," Petunia said wistfully.

"And what about what you've been putting me through?" Harry yelled. "You and Dudley and Uncle Vernon, you've been practically ABUSING me for 15 years!"

"That…that I have no excuses for. Just an explanation. You were a reminder of the circumstances that I left the school because of, and the reminder of the sister I disowned. I suppose I thought…if I could make you hurt…my hurt would go away."

"THAT'S—"

"I know that's no excuse, and I swear I'm not proud of what I've done. The number of times I could hear Lily yelling at me for it!"

"And Uncle Vernon? Does he know about this?"

"No, and neither does Dudley. I wouldn't dream of telling either of them."

Harry looked like he wanted to say something to her, but turned to Dumbledore. "And you didn't tell me this because?"

"It was your aunt's decision. And, up until now, it wasn't relevant."

"What do you mean, "up until now"?"

"Well, seeing as Petunia has used magic, she will have to return to Hogwarts and finish out her education."

"WHAT?!" Harry shrieked.

"In that letter I left, I held Petunia to a promise. If she ever used magic again, she would need to become a fully-fledged witch again. Knowing her reasons, I told her to use magic only in the most dire situations."

"Like Voldemort's return," Harry said slowly.

"Yes, and we need all the help we can get. Petunia wrote back, swearing to that promise. That's an unbreakable charm."

"Like so many other things," Harry muttered.

"Harry, I know this is a lot to swallow—"

"Yeah, it is. Listen, I'm just going up to the top floor, okay? I want to think."

"I understand."

"Send Fred or George up to tell me when everyone wakes up, all right?"

"Of course."

* * *

Harry wandered aimlessly around the gift shop, looking at the bright, cheery colors. But his mind was once again within himself.

'My aunt's a witch. My aunt's a witch,' he kept saying in his head. 'She's been bashing magic for 15 years, but she's been a witch all along—'

"Hello! Can I help you!" a bright, bubbly voice said.

Harry looked up to face a witch slightly taller than himself. She had long, black hair, a friendly smile that held some mystery and mischeif despite her obvious many years, and absolutely sparkling blue eyes, sapphire in color and diamond in shine. But there was a cloud over them, much like the blank look in the Longbottoms' eyes.

"Hello! Can I help you!" she repeated, in the exact same tone.

"Um, no thanks."

"Hello! Can I help you!"

"Oleta!"

Another witch came out from a different aisle. "Oleta, don't bother customers, dear. Here, go look after aisle 12."

"Okay!" Oleta bounced away.

"Poor, poor Oleta," the witch said, shaking her head. She seemed unaware that she was talking. "She was a Ravenclaw in her day, I hear, a brilliant mind. Could've been in Gryffindor, she was brave enough. She was one of the best teachers at Hogwarts ever, too. Well, she must've been brave and smart, to make a good match with old Dumbledore."

"WHAT?!"

"You didn't know?" the witch said, looking appalled. "Albus and Oleta. They were practically joined at the hip in their Hogwarts years. And when they were teaching, too, always subbing for the other when one was sick. Oh, it's such a shame. You-Know-Who got her one day. Used an Unforgivable on her, but Dumbledore got there before he could kill her and drove him away. But poor Oleta, her mind was damaged. She lives here now, and we let her roam the gift shop since she's harmless. Dumbledore's always here in the summer, and he was here for a bit when he was on the run from Fudge, but he hasn't been here lately. Must have to do with You-Know-Who, now that he's back." There was a loud crash. "Oh, Oleta!" The witch ran towards the sound. "Oleta, don't touch anything!" She disappeared.

Harry stared. Oleta must have been here for over a decade and a half, seeing as she wasn't in the picture Moody had shown him. Albus Dumbledore's wife, a brilliant Ravenclaw, roaming in St. Mungo's gift shop, not knowing where or even who she was!

'That must be why Dumbledore always looks so sad,' Harry thought suddenly, thinking that Dumbledore's face was always long and drawn, even when he smiled. 'And why he hates Voldemort so much.'

Harry felt another rush of anger. Voldemort was the cause of all this, Voldemort was why he didn't have parents, Voldemort was why Hermione didn't have parents, Voldemort was why Oleta Dumbledore and the Longbottoms were insane, Vodemort was why the family he loved best were suffering on the 4th floor, Voldemort was the cause of almost everything.

If Voldemort had been there right then, Harry would have throttled him.

"Hey, Harry!" someone called, and he looked up to see George standing in the doorway.

Harry's stomach dissolved. "Are they—?"

"No! No one's dead! Ron and Dad are pulling through just fine, and Mum's slowly coming back to reality."

"What about Ginny and Hermione?"

"I don't know about Ginny yet, but Hermione's all right. She's awake and says she wants to see you."

"I'm there," Harry said, running after George as he made his way back towards the stairs.


	4. New Loves And Old Flames

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

New Loves and Old Flames

* * *

"It's a little disappointing, Petunia, to see Harry now," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Professor, I—" Petunia started.

"I understand your reasons, Petunia. It was a terrible thing to have happened to you. What Lucius did was unforgivable."

"It wasn't just Malfoy. It was…it was him, too."

"But he didn't—"

"He didn't stop him. He laughed. But I guess I'm a hypocrite. I stood by and watched Vernon abuse Harry and did nothing…and I joined in, too. So I guess I'm worse."

Dumbledore was very quiet. "I won't deny facts, Petunia. But, while we're on the subject of—"

"Please don't say his name. Ever again," Petunia added, with a touch of anger.

"All right. While we're on the subject of "him", you should know that he's in league with us now, so you may end up seeing him again."

Her eyes widened. "Professor, I can't do that. I can't see him again."

"You must, Petunia. Unless you want yours, and Harry's, lives to end, you must."

"I…I can't."

"You must."

"I know. I…know…"

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed weakly.

"Hi, Hermes," Harry said, using the nickname she had forbidden him to ever use.

"I'd throw a pillow at you if I had the energy," Hermione said. "How's Ron?"

"He's not awake yet."

Hermione sighed a very deep, sorrowful sigh. "Harry, sit with me, please."

Harry obediently went forward and sat next to her. She dropped her head against his side, her arms hugging his stomach.

"We're a pair of orphans now, Harry," she said. "And God knows how many of our friends will join us…or how many we'll lose."

"Don't think about it, Hermes," he said.

"I try not to, and then I think of my parents and it comes around full circle. You were at least lucky in one way. You didn't know they were being killed while you waited upstairs."

"Hermione—"

"I heard them, Harry. I heard them screaming. It was like how you are when Dementors are nearby."

Harry remembered, with a sudden chill, the Dementors roaming around him, remembered the heart-shattering shrieks as Lily cried for James and pleaded for Harry at the same time. He wrapped one arm around Hermione and squeezed her.

"My mother…her name was Demi…saw who they were. The Death Eaters who killed them. I heard her shriek just before she died."

"Who were they?"

"Aaron and Belicia Granger. My mother and father."

"What?"

"Harry, my parents aren't my real parents. Aaron Granger is my biological father, my dad's brother. Aaron and Belicia went to Hogwarts, but Paul Granger, my uncle, was a Squib, and his wife was a Muggle. Aaron and Paul hated each other and never spoke. Aaron and Belicia took up with Voldemort when he first came to power, and they ran a campaign against Squibs and Muggles. My grandmother asked Dumbledore to hide them, so they weren't killed. Your parents were their Secret-Keepers. They were all in the Order together. Paul and Demi could look for Dark Magic in Muggle places easier than the others could."

She paused. "A little more than a year before you brought down Voldemort, my biological parents had me, but I can't remember living with them. My first memory is the early November after my 1st birthday, when Dumbledore brought me to live with Paul and Demi. They knew that I would probably be a witch, so they raised me to become one."

She paused again. "I found out about Aaron and Belicia when I was 10, when I found my birth certificate on accident. Ever wonder why I've worked so hard to be so perfect? To prove to Paul and Demi that I'm not like Aaron and Belicia. My aunt and uncle were my parents. I refuse to have parents that are Death Eaters. So I guess I'm an orphan now." She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "How opposite are our circumstances? Your parents were Order members and mine were Death Eaters. We were both given to an aunt and uncle. Mine loved me, yours hated you. And yet, we're both orphans now."

Harry was trying to register all that Hermione had told him. "Why did you never say anything to Ron and me?"

"If Lily and James were Death Eaters, would you have said anything? I didn't want anyone to know. I wouldn't even tell Malfoy, to get him to shut up about me being a Mudblood. If Aaron and Belicia were my alternatives, I'd prefer to be that way. Harry, after they killed my aunt and uncle I went downstairs. I screamed at them; told them I knew about everything that they'd done and if they dreamed I'd join them, they were sadly deluded. Belicia tried to kill me, but her _Avada Kedavra_ was pretty weak. She was just recently busted out of Azkaban, so she wouldn't have had much practice with a wand, now would she? She did knock me out, though."

"How could she…how can a mother try to kill her own child?"

"Death Eaters don't care about other lives anymore. You saw how Bellatrix killed Sirius, her own cousin, and the only thing she was upset about was failing Voldemort. Aaron and Belicia were the same way. Power turns people's heads, Harry. Death Eaters have hearts hard enough to cut diamonds. Why should a trivial thing like a daughter or a brother mean anything to them?" Silent tears poured down her face. "I'll kill them, Harry. I'll even use _Avada Kedavra_ if I have to, I'll kill them for what they've done—"

"Hermione, don't get worked up, you'll hurt yourself!"

"I don't care! They killed my mum and dad!" she screeched. She started to thrash about violently. "AND I WILL KILL THEM!"

Hermione was going to seriously hurt herself if she kept up like this. Harry's mind was flying. Frantically, he did the only thing he could think of to stop her.

He grabbed Hermione's face and planted his lips against hers.

She immediately stopped thrashing, and her entire body went rigid. Harry's heart was thumping wildly against his ribs. She was going to hurt him so bad when he pulled away.

She didn't moved for two agonizingly slow seconds, and then her arms flung themselves around him and held him closer.

They stayed like that for 30 seconds, and then Harry pulled back. He was gasping for breath and amazed at himself, and her.

"Harry," Hermione said quietly. "What was that?"

"You were hurting yourself…I had to stop you." he stammered.

"Did you enjoy it?"

His voice failed him. He looked at her with confused, pleading eyes.

"Of course not, how could you enjoy a kiss from someone born of filth? I should've just kept my mouth shut. No one except Draco could ever love the child of Death Eaters. Well, I'm sorry you had to endure it, Harry. Terribly sor—"

She was cut off as Harry kissed her again.

This time, Hermione pulled back. She stared at Harry, in shock.

"Of course I enjoyed it. A 30-second kiss for no reason isn't my bag."

"Harry, I—" Hermione started. "I enjoyed it, too." She smiled, though tears were still in her eyes. "This is good. This is very good."

She leaned in against Harry's side, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It did not feel so awkward. She was one of his best friends. She had been with him through everything. And holding her, sending comfort to her, just felt...right.

"Harry."

"Yeah, Hermes?"

"Promise me you won't die. Promise me you won't leave me like my parents did."

He planted a kiss on top of her head. "I won't."

* * *

"Where's Ronald? Where is he?"

Luna Lovegood burst into the lobby. The attack at 12 Grimmauld Place was all over the news, as even an Unplottable building showed up if it exploded. Luna knew that Grimmauld was the site of the Order's HQ, as her father had joined recently, and she knew that the Weasleys were a part of it.

She had immediately thought of Ron, and she had panicked. She had begged and begged until her father agreed to Apparate her to St. Mungo's. She had nearly cried with gratitude when he did.

The Welcome Witch stared at her. "Miss, if you don't mind, this is a hospital."

"I need to see Ronald Weasley!" she yelped.

"I'm afraid he's in a delicate condition and can see no one until his Healer says he can."

"What happened?"

"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information. Kindly take a seat, and I will call you when he wakes up."

Luna turned away, almost crying. She was imagining all sorts of terrible things that could possibly have happened to him. He was lying on the ground, his entrails leaking out…he was hanging from the ceiling, bleeding…and yelling "Luna, Luna!"

"Hey, you. You're Loony Lovegood, aren't you?"

Luna turned. "I'm Luna Selena Nokomis Cynthia Diana Artemis Tsuki Gwendolyn Phoebe Lovegood," she said, indignantly, facing Fred and George Weasley, ignoring their shocked faces at her name. "And you are Frederick James and George Oliver Weasley. Ronald Rupert Weasley's brothers. How is he?

"He's not awake yet, but we think he's holding up."

"That's good." Relief at this news allowed her back her dreamy expression. Idly, she imagined being the first one there when he woke up. She blushed and giggled, making Fred and George look at each other with confused expressions.

Well used to this, Luna positively floated to the nearest chair and sat down, letting herself daydream.

* * *

"They're almost here," Dumbledore said, standing up.

"Who is?" Petunia asked.

"The Order."

"You contacted all of them?" Petunia asked, aghast. "Even—"

"Yes, even him."

"How could you?!"

But before Dumbledore could answer, the body of Remus Lupin tumbled out the hospital's fireplace. Petunia looked positively relieved that he had come out first.

The Last Marauder, however, did not look thrilled at all. He looked dead nervous.

"Who was hurt? Your letter was vague," he said directly at Dumbledore.

"Hermione Granger, Ron, Ginny, Molly, and Arthur Weasley," Dumbledore said.

"And Harry?"

"He escaped uninjured."

"That's good to hear," a new, younger, female voice said, as Nymphadora Tonks followed Remus. Dumbledore's quick eyes saw Tonks's hand lightly graze Remus's own, and he sent a sharp glance to Remus. He had been picking up frequencies that Remus and Tonks were romantically involved, even though she was considerably younger, but he had no proof. In any case, they both seemed happy, so he'd decided not to press. Remus wasn't the kind to use and abuse younger girls, anyway.

From the doorway walked Luna's father, Apollo Lovegood. He immediately went to his daughter, who hugged him and said, "He's all right".

Following them was the ever-growling, ever-eye-twitching Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. He glanced at Petunia without so much as a nod, and then turned back to Dumbledore. "Who's dead?"

"Bill and Percy Weasley, and Paul and Demi Granger."

"The Grangers?" Moody growled. "Who did it? Don't tell me it was those devils Aaron and Belicia Granger."

"It seems likely."

Petunia stopped listening to their conversation, as there was a PUFF from the fireplace. She turned quickly, and her eyes widened as she saw who it was.

"You," she said, quietly and darkly.

She reared back her palm and slapped him clear across the face.

"Aunt Petunia!"

Petunia turned quickly to see Harry, staring incredulously, his mouth hanging open. He had just left Hermione's room, seeing as she was tired and the nurse was yelling at him to let her sleep.

"Oh, yes, I should introduce you." She turned back to the red-faced man. "This is my nephew, Harry Potter. Harry, meet my ex-boyfriend." She said the name bitterly, as if she had just swallowed Skelo-Gro.

"Severus Snape."


	5. Justice's Fee

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

Justice's Fee

* * *

There were very few times when Harry did not have a response to something, but it happened. Now was one of those times.

His eyes flashed back and forth from Petunia to Snape. There was his aunt, standing there with cold fury in her eyes, and Snape, who again was expressionless, though his face was slowly gaining more red in color.

"I-I'm sorry, but I need to go hurl now," he finally said.

"God, what has he done to anger You? Is there some sin we know naught of?" Fred muttered.

"Shut up, Weasley," Snape said. "And trust me, Potter, the idea that she is your relative sickens me as well."

"Really. I thought it was my dirty blood that sickened you," Petunia snapped.

Harry suddenly felt newfound respect for his aunt as she stood there, yelling at Snape like that.

"While I'm sure this is very important to you both, we have something else to discuss before you can return to your…falling out," Dumbledore said placidly. Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance, and Mundungus Fletcher were entering the building.

"Yes, sir," Petunia muttered, and Snape nodded.

As Kingsley Shacklebolt joined the circle, Dumbledore spoke. Harry, who was outside the circle, strained to hear.

"As you know, 12 Grimmauld Place was attacked earlier this evening. You also know that we removed the Fidelius Charm, because I trusted all of you. Only we, Harry, and the Weasley children knew the location of our headquarters. My sole question is, how did the Death Eaters find out?"

"But that would mean—" Remus started.

"Someone betrayed our whereabouts. Someone among us…is a Death Eater spy."

Harry's eyes immediately flickered to Snape, and he saw Petunia do the same thing. He focused on her.

Her eyes remained locked on Snape's face, looking for a twitch of muscle or a gleam in his eyes that would mark him as the spy. She saw a grimace. She chewed the inside of her bottom lip and turned back to Dumbledore.

"I don't want it to have been any of us," Dumbledore said. "But apparently, my trust has been betrayed. It is the only explanation."

There was complete silence. Tonks moved in closer to Remus and seized his hand.

"I ask, most likely futilely, that the person who betrayed us come forward."

There was no movement, except the flicker of accusing and furious eyes.

"I see." He paused. "All of you are skilled Occlumensi, so to search your minds would be useless. So I adjourn this meeting. And, I'm sad to say, you will all be watched."

Nobody moved for a moment.

"And now, I must attend to socks."

A confused look swept over the Order's faces. "Socks"?!

Dumbledore nodded his head good-bye and turned, making towards the double doors that would lead him upstairs.

To where Oleta was.

A dim memory ignited in Harry's brain. When Dumbledore had found him looking into the Mirror of Erised, he had asked what Dumbledore saw. He had answered "Socks".

Maybe it was a metaphor, or a nickname for Oleta!

"Professor, wait!" Harry called. "I think I know something—about socks."

Even more confused eyes turned to him, but he ignored them and chased after the retreating headmaster.

* * *

"I must give you credit. You have a knack finding out about things you shouldn't," Dumbledore said. "So tell me, Harry, how did you come across my wife?"

"I was wandering around the gift shop and I kinda ran into her. Some lady told me your story."

"Must have been that gossipmonger nurse of hers," Dumbledore, but he didn't sound angry. "I suppose you know why she is here, as well?"

"Yes. He got her—Voldemort did."

Dumbledore was silent for a good length of stair-climbing, but he spoke again. "I met her in 1937, in our third year, at a Hogsmeade trip at the end of June. She was knitting socks for house-elves. Oleta was very much the forerunner of your friend Hermione Granger. Anyway, I called her Socks because of that. I suppose you could say we hit it off directly. We were Head Boy and Girl together in our 7th year. However, she had a boyfriend. I did not like him at all, and with good reason. He sole desire was to have his way and then leave her. He did, and he left her pregnant, too. Harry, Oleta's surname was McGonagall. You can fathom who her daughter is."

"You mean...Professor McGonagall..."

"Yes, Harry, Minerva is my stepdaughter. Well, as it went, I joined the Allies in the Second World War. We courted when I came home on furlough, and after I defeated Grindelwald in 1945, I came home and married her. In September of that year we both returned to teach at Hogwarts. I taught Transfiguration and she taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. We both taught Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, as he is more commonly known now. Oleta always had a bad feeling about him."

Harry's head was spinning.

"She and I founded the Order together when Voldemort rose to power in the late 70's. However, in 1987, Voldemort discovered where we were hidden and attacked. Only she was home. He…tortured her, trying to get information on me. She was one of the first people ever to resist the Imperious Curse. She told him nothing. He was about to kill her when I returned and forced him off."

He fell silent. Harry tried to imagine the aftermath of that attack.

"Someone betrayed us," Dumbledore said suddenly.

"Betcha it was Wormtail," Harry said bitterly, remembering his own hatred of the name. Wormtail had been partly responsible for James, Lily, and even Sirius's deaths, his own friends. What qualms would he have about killing the headmaster's wife?

"Perhaps it was. So, Harry." He stopped abruptly. "I have noticed that you and Miss Hermione Granger have gotten several degrees closer since your first year. Please heed my advice; don't let anyone get to her. Don't let anyone hurt her. You will regret it for the rest of your life."

Dumbledore started walking again, faster. Harry stood, dumbstruck.

He imagined Hermione wandering aimlessly around St. Mungo's, repeating herself. That thought was near impossible to reach and completely impossible to bear. He forced the thought from his mind and continued after Dumbledore.

He stopped at the double doors, and peered in through the foggy glass, not wanting to get any closer. It would upset Dumbledore.

He pressed his face to the glass, trying to hear. Dumbledore and Oleta were facing each other.

"It's Albus, Oleta."

Oleta frowned. "I don't know Albus. I don't know Albus."

"You know me, Oleta."

Oleta started crying. "I don't know Albus! I DON'T KNOW ALBUS!!

"Sir, please, you're upsetting her," an aide said frantically. "Let us calm her down, and then we'll try to introduce you again. She usually has some inkling as to who you are; maybe we can get her to remember this time."

"I'll return soon," Dumbledore said, and quickly turned away. He headed towards a different set of staircases, but as he passed by the door he had come through he said, clearly:

"There are things much, much worse than death, Harry."

And then he hurried on.


	6. Putting It Behind Us

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

A/N-This chapter is really just setting the mood for the upcoming chapters, with some tantalizing hints about upcoming secrets and some romance.

* * *

Putting It Behind Us

* * *

It felt good to breathe fresh air again, Ron minded, as he took his first step out of St. Mungo's. Well, it wasn't really a step, as he was being pushed out of the hospital in a wheelchair, steered by none other than Luna Lovegood.

He would never forget taking his first roll around Mungo's in his wheelchair and seeing Luna run at him.

"Oh, Ronald! I'm so glad you're okay! I was getting worried, I was thinking you might need some unicorn blood, but that would've made you worse, so I thought I might have to get the liver of Bent-Back Marvalian to help you but they're dreadful hard to find, they live in Tibet, you know, and so very few ever migrate to England, but I would've gone all the way to Tibet to get one for you…"

She had only stopped when a passing Healer told her that she was getting too worked up for someone in his condition, at which she had gasped loudly and quickly silenced herself with her wand.

And now she was pushing his wheel chair, humming a made-up tune, her wand, which was held in one of her hands against the handlebars, tapping his head irritatingly as she swayed side to side with the tune of this imagined beat.

"I'm so glad I didn't need the liver of a Bent-Back Marvalian," she said. "They're considered sacred, you know, by the Tibetan monks, so it would have been rather difficult to escape with one. But those Healers knew what they were doing. Perhaps I should be a Healer."

"Just yesterday you wanted to be a slug," Ron commented.

"Yes, it must be interesting to be a slug, don't you think? Just sliding away on the ground, covered in your own slime. Of course, it's not unusual for the slug, but how interesting would it be for a human to see from its point of view?"

"I don't think it would be much of a treat," he replied tartly.

"I do."

She removed her hand from the handlebar (Not the one holding the wand, to Ron's annoyance) and began toying with his hair. The wand was still tapping his head in a steady, rhythmic time signature.

"You should never, ever judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes," she said sagely. "I want to have a go at being everything in the world, except, of course, a Death Eater."

Luna fell silent after those last few words, and Ron was grateful that she had, not just because her talk confused and disoriented him, but also because at the thought of Death Eaters, his thoughts went reeling back to July 21st, the day his life was blown straight to Hell.

* * *

Grimmauld Place had been about as warm as it possibly ever could have been, with Percy back with the family and newly instated at Grimmauld Place, when Ginny had heard that sound. A very faint ticking noise just outside the door.

For the first time ever, Ron appreciated that his father knew about Muggles.

"It sounds amazingly like something on the Muggle cartoons. They call it a "bome", I think, and it always ticks like that before it explodes."

"I think it's pronounced "bomb", Father," Percy had muttered under his breath.

"Ah yes, "bomb", and I do believe it causes great, big explosions…" Arthur trailed off, suddenly frowning. "Why on Earth there would be a bomb here, of all places? No one knows we're here, and Death Eaters wouldn't use bombs…would they?"

Molly shoved back her chair, not flinching with the others as it made a horrible scraping noise.

"Ron, Ginny, get upstairs," she said, in a voice that demanded and never failed to receive obedience. "Percy, you watch the stairs. Bill, stay here. Arthur…"

"Yes." Arthur was glaring intently at the door. All cheeriness of his usual demeanor had flown out the window as Molly power-walked to his side. She reached slowly into her robes and unsheathed her wand, a 12-inch French product of Fig tree and Veela hair. She was matched by Arthur's own wand, 13 inches, made of Maple and unicorn hair. Both wands were pointed directly at the door.

Ron and Ginny squatted at the corner on the first landing up the stairs, squinting down to see Arthur and Molly. Fresh aches were beginning to form all over Ron's body, and the welts left by the brains were beginning to show, as if he had just swum with jellyfish.

"Ron!" Ginny whispered fiercely, grabbing his hand. He hadn't realized that he'd been wincing.

"If you're out there," Arthur called loudly, his voice strong even as his whole frame shook, "enter the house and fight."

"Arthur," Molly whispered urgently.

"There's nothing worse than uncertainty," he replied softly. "Well?!" he yelled at the door. "What are you waiting for?"

Complete silence, the ticking sound the exception, was his answer. Bill moved, but Molly stayed him with a flick of her hand.

"Dad, do you think…?" Bill whispered.

"Shh." Arthur cocked his head, listening intently. The ticking grew louder, quicker, more menacing, and then…it stopped.

"Dad?" Ginny called down nervously.

"GET DOWN!!"

Arthur jumped on Molly and pinned her to the floor, shielding her with himself. Bill and Percy dropped in their tracks, and Ron threw Ginny back, bouncing after her and holding her against his chest, as the door, without any hint of a warning, blew backwards with a fury violent enough to rival a tornado.

The welts on Ron's arm and neck suddenly exploded with pain, as if he had a thousand of Harry's scar plastered all over his body.

There was a clattering as the scattered two-by-fours were kicked.

"My, my, my," a female voice said. "I haven't been in this house since my graduation party, do you remember, darling? Dear old Sirius did us the courtesy of changing my caviar into locusts that attacked Mother's wig. Well, it certainly has taken a fall from grace, hasn't it?"

"It's Bellatrix," Ginny whispered to Ron, her fingers digging into his shirt.

He didn't answer; the pain was so great.

"Arthur, Molly, how lovely to see you again!" the same sickly-sweet voice echoed. "Though, I must say, you do look a bit worse than when I last saw you. Living in that shack might be the problem. And to think, Arthur, your mother was Spica Black, my father's sister!"

"My mother was Spica Weasley, and was a sight too good for this…house," Arthur answered steely.

Ron realized with a sickening lurch in his stomach that he was related to Bellatrix through his grandmother. Grandma Spica, who was always outspoken against the dark side, an avid supporter of Dumbledore, an old school friend of Hagrid and Harry's grandparents, Timothy and Gloria…it was through her that he was related to the creature responsible for his best friend's depression. He felt anger well up inside him, trotting along side by side with the pain on his arms.

"Ah, well, no time to argue over family, wouldn't you say?" Bellatrix continued cheerfully, twirling her wand inbetween her fingers like a baton. "I had the pleasure of seeing your son and daughter writhe in agony back in June. Let's see if you can do it quite as well as they can."

"_Silencio_!" Molly shrieked from the floor, her wand pointed due Bellatrix's throat.

Bellatrix did not have time to dodge or protect herself. Molly's spell hit her straight where, had she been male, her Adam's apple would have been. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Her eyes snapping with fury, she grabbed her husband and thrust him forward.

Taking his cue from her, he pointed his wand at Arthur.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" he yelled in his booming voice.

"_Prote_—" Arthur started, but before the word left his mouth he was suspended in mid-air.

"_Locomotor Arthur Weasley_!" Rodolphus bellowed.

"ARTHUR!!" Molly screeched, as Rodolphus directed Arthur's body straight into the wall.

Another Death Eater stepped forward. This one was unrecognizable.

"You're quite annoying, Molly," he said conversationally, eyeing the redheaded Weasley matron. "You always were, even at Hogwarts. _Avada Kedavra_."

Molly screeched as the spell exploded from the tip of Rabastan's wand, and her shriek was promptly cut off as a body flung itself in front of her.

"PERCY!!" Ginny shrieked, her fingers digging to Ron's shirt so hard they were creating indents. Tears burst from her eyes. "Oh my God, oh my God, Percy, oh my God…"

Molly stared at the body of her son, eyes glassed over. Her mouth was slightly open, looking as if everything she had seen and heard had gone through her mind and out the other end.

Ron's mind numbed with the pain of the welts. Ginny's sobbing was the only thing keeping him from passing out.

And suddenly, Ginny had detached herself and sprinted down the stairs, tears flying off her face as she unsheathed her wand, a 9-inch Apple tree and phoenix feather wand.

"Ginny!" Bill and Ron both yelled. Ron jumped up, wishing he hadn't when the excruciating pain quickly doubled, and ran down after her.

"_C-Crucio_!" Ginny half-yelled, half-whimpered, pointing her wand at the unknown Death Eater.

"_Protego_!" he said carelessly, flicking the spell off himself. "Very weak, little girl, very weak, indeed. You want a strong curse? How's this feel for you?" He flicked his wand lazily. "_Matovida_!"

Ginny stopped moving. Her face turned a sickly shade of pale as she sunk to her knees on the floor. She leaned over, her mouth opening and shutting like a beached fish. With every opening, blood poured forth from her throat.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Ron shouted, pointing at the Death Eater.

"_Finite Incantatem_!" a female voice cried, and Ron's spell was rendered useless. Bellatrix seemed to have gotten Rodolphus to perform the counter spell for the Silencing Charm, because she was smirking at them, her wand raised.

"_Immobulous_!" Bill shouted, pointing at Bellatrix.

"_Protego_!" The spell reflected and disintegrated. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Ginny shrieked, blood pouring in a river from her mouth, as Bill collapsed to the floor, eyes dark and wide open in shock.

It was too much. Ron's head spun in a circle. He could feel blood pouring from the welt marks, felt it as it streamed down his legs and arms. Darkness was claiming him. He swayed on his feet and felt himself collapse. He felt his head crash painfully into a stair step. Darkness approached that much quicker, and suddenly, the lights went out.

He had awakened later in Fred and George's shop, leaning against the wall, to find his mother crazy and his father and sister unconscious, near death. He considered it a miracle that they were not all dead. He could only assume that they had thought himself, Ginny, and Arthur dead as well as Percy and Bill, and did not see Molly as much of a threat, and had departed.

* * *

"Ronald?"

Luna's wand tapping against his head brought him back to the present, and his eyes once again focused in front of him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you feeling quite all right?"

"Yeah."

She was still toying with his hair, and as her hand touched his head, he felt a shiver pass through him, a shiver that reminded him of that night. A throbbing pain was shooting through his arm.

* * *

The Burrow seemed even more warm and welcoming than ever before. Sunlight filtered the air, but the pond was letting off a cool sea breeze, making it a perfect temperature for the beginning of August.

"_Mère_ Weasley!"

A stunningly beautiful girl of 19, silver hair swinging behind her in the breeze, ran out from inside the house. She was followed by a petite girl, her black braid thumping against her back as she ran.

They stopped in front of the caravan of convalescents and their caregivers, Harry, Fred, George, Petunia, and Luna, and faced Molly.

"Fleur? Penelope?" Harry said, slightly dumbfounded. A distant memory revealed that Fleur had been dating Bill ever since last year, but he hadn't known that Percy had continued dating Penelope.

"Oh, _Mère_ Weasley, I have been so worried about you, and _Père_ Weasley, and _mon freres_ and _mon soeur_!" Fleur cried.

Harry looked questioningly at Hermione.

"She just said she'd been worried about Mother Weasley, Father Weasley, and her brothers and sister," Hermione explained softly. "I guess she and Bill were planning on getting married."

"Fleur, Penelope, how good of you two to stick around," Molly said tiredly.

"Frere Charles, 'e is 'ere, also," Fleur said. "All ze way from Romania 'e came for ze funeral."

"Hey, Mum, Dad, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione," a male voice said, and Charlie Weasley stepped out the door, nodding at each of them. He inclined his head questioningly at Petunia but did not deign to ask her name.

"Let's get inside, dears, I need a moment to sit down," Molly said tiredly.

Fleur, Charlie, Harry, Fred, George, Petunia, and Luna assisted Arthur, Molly, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione into the house.

* * *

"_Monsieur_ Dumbly-dore, 'e is very kind," Fleur was saying, over the cup of steaming tea she held in her hand. "'E came 'ere just yesterday to make sure all was ready for your return from ze 'ospital. 'E says 'e will be at ze funeral tomorrow, too."

"As Hagrid is so fond of saying, "Great man, Dumbledore"," Arthur said. He also held a mug of tea. Molly sat beside him, and they both sat across the kitchen table from Fleur and Penelope.

"_Mère_ Weasley, _Père_ Weasley," Fleur said suddenly, reaching out and grabbing Molly's hand. "Bill and moi, we wished to wed. We were planning on announcing our engagement soon. But now, as 'e's gone… I 'ope you will not mind my staying in Eengland. I wish to stay until you need moi no longer, and zen I return to France."

"Of course dear, stay as long as you want," Molly said. "I just wish…I would've loved to see one of my children married before I die. I'm an old woman now."

"_Belle Mère_ Weasley, you are but 42 years," Fleur protested.

"I feel 92," Molly replied wearily. "Arthur, please take me to the living room. I need some rest, but I can't go upstairs…not to where their rooms are…"

"Of course, Molly," Arthur said, taking her free hand and lifting her from her chair. He led her fom the table at out to the living room.

Penelope, who had not made a single utterance the entire time she had thus far been at the Burrow, suddely let out a choked sob. That was too much for Fleur. She flung her arms around Penelope, buried her face in her shoulder, and sobbed with her.

* * *

Ginny laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. If she stared at a certain patch long enough, the woodwork changed shapes. Whether or not that was the work of the ghoul, she neither knew nor cared.

"Ginny, you're very quiet," Hermione said softly. She was lying on a cot opposite to Ginny, that Charlie and Fleur had set up. It cramped up the room but also warmed it.

"Am I not allowed to be?" Ginny asked, sitting up straight. She winced as the blood rushed to her head, but was immediately grateful she'd had blood enough left, after the Tuberculosis Curse that Death Eater had hit her with. "I'm seeing two of my brothers buried tomorrow. You're none so loud yourself, Hermione."

"I'm watching my parents being buried, too," Hermione snapped. "Be grateful I'm not screaming my head off."

Ginny bit the fleshy inside of her cheek, looking remorseful. "I'm sorry for being cross, Hermione."

She shrugged. "No, I should be sorry. We're in the same boat."

"No, we're not. I mean, Bill is dead because of someone distantly related to us, and I don't know who killed Percy, but you…"

"Does it matter if they're my biological parents?" Hermione snapped, echoing Sirius's comment on Bellatrix last year. "They abandoned me when Voldemort fell, and then they killed the only people I could ever consider my parents. They are slime. They are nothing to me at all."

Ginny looked frightened. "Hermione, I'm sorry, I…"

Hermione let out a very big sigh, which Ginny took as a sort of apology, and felt comfortable enough to smile at her. It would not do to have Hermione, her closest friend, at odds with her.

"Sorry for snapping at you, again, for the second time in 5 minutes," Hermione said. She toyed with the comforter on the cot, then stood up abruptly. "I have to go. I want to talk to Harry before the funeral."

Ginny gave her a grin, trying to lighten the mood and lift the tension that was stifling the flow of air from the open window. It helped slightly, and Hermione smiled weakly at her as she walked out of the room, giving her a tiny wave.

* * *

Hermione took a deep breath as she shut Ginny's door behind her. Her throat felt like it was slowly closing in on itself.

Her mouth opened to cough, but what came out was a choking sob. Tears began to pour from her eyes as she sunk to the floor, burying her face in her hands. Tears were soft and warm, like Demi's hands had been when she was rubbing Hermione's cold nose to warm it against a winter wind. They were salty, just like Paul's smell when he came in from a day on the boat.

She slammed her fist on the floor, swearing loudly and causing a jump courtesy of Ginny. Aaron and Belicia deserved eternal hellfire for this. How could they so unfeelingly murder their brother and his wife and then try to kill their own child? The little life they had created, the only good they had really brought to the world? How could they unerringly rip her entire world apart at the seams and do it so flippantly?

She swore again, this time screaming, but no one opened their doors to look in on her. The silent reaction to her shouting was deafening. She didn't want people to deferentially leave her with her suffering. She wanted someone to barge in, to comfort her, sympathize with her, or even tell her that she had no business swearing like that at 16 years old. Just someone to BE there.

Her hands were on her skull and she was preparing to rip out strands of hair by the roots when a small male voice whispered, "Hermione?"

"Harry?" she called back uncertainly.

"In the flesh." Harry appeared from Ron's room. "I never knew you were such a potty mouth before."

She sniffled, and wiped away tears. "I never heard my parents murdered before, either. I'm so glad you can only hear your parents when Dementors are around. I have and always will have a fresh memory of it."

He reached out tentatively and touched her cheek. "Just…just try not to think about it, okay?"

Harry was unused to this. For so long he had seemed like the only one who'd suffered, the only one who'd dealt with pain and loss, especially more so after Sirius's death. But now, his closest friends were suffering exactly what he was.

"They say…they say childhood is over when you realize you're going to die," he said. "But I think…maybe it's over when you realize that everyone around you will die."

"You know what, Harry, I think that's true."

He approached her slowly and put his arm around her shoulder. She reached up and grabbed his hand.

"Harry, thank you for being here for me."

"It wasn't a problem."

"You have always been my best friend. Without you, I really would be dead. I know you remembered, Halloween in our 1st year, that I was in the bathroom when Quirrell let the troll in. I would've died if you hadn't remembered. After that I was so proud to be your friend. I didn't even have any girl friends and suddenly you and Ron were there."

"Ron." Harry's eyes flew open. "Oh, God, Hermione, Ron doesn't know about us yet."

Hermione looked slightly stricken, as well. "My God, Harry, you're right."

"How is he gonna take it? I remember 4th year. He didn't speak to me for weeks over something like the Tournament. Imagine what he'll act like when he finds out about his two best friends."

"He'll have to live with it," Hermione said, but not coldly. "If he is worth it as a friend, he'll live with it."

Harry bit the inside of his cheek. "Hermione…" he said falteringly.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you want to start dating me now? I mean, I'm not trying to dump you or anything," he added hastily. "But your parents just died and you're not fully recovered from your injuries. And now that I think of it…Krum. Aren't you still dating him?"

"I haven't seen him in person for a year. I don't think that counts as dating, even long-distance. But I'll have to write him and tell him what's been happening. I think he'll be okay with it. He's not eternally in love with me, you know. He just thought I was nice. And even if he was so in love with me, I couldn't stay with him. Harry, have you ever heard that old story about the meadowlark?"

"No."

"Well, there was a meadowlark. She sang beautifully, but she was blind. There was an old king who fell in love with her and offered her everything just to hear her sing. She complied and lived with him. One day she was singing by the river when the sun god came by. He fell in love with her as well, and her gave her what the king couldn't: her sight. He asked for her to come away with him, but she wouldn't. She couldn't bear to hurt the old king, even if she was miserable forever. So the sun god left, and when the king came to get her, he found that she'd died."

"That's…morbid, Hermione."

"No, it's perfectly truthful. It's symbolic. I'm the meadowlark, Harry. The king is my pain over my parent's death and my relationship with Viktor. The sun god is the rest of my life…and you." She turned to look him in the face. "If I can't leave my king behind and go with the sun god, I will die. Of course, I can't and won't forget. Viktor will always be my first boyfriend. My parent's deaths will always hurt me, and I'll be sad about them for a long time. But I…" she took a deep breath, collecting herself. "I can't wallow in sad memories and watch the sun pass me by. I have to move forward, no matter how hurt I am now. Moving forward means staying with you, Harry." She wiped away the remaining tears. "Stay with me for as long as you want to. I need you to do that for me, at least for now."

"Never thought I'd live to see Hermione not planning for the future."

"I can afford to live in the present right now," she answered, then sheepishly grinned at him. "D'you think, Harry, that we could have a real kiss right now? Not one where I'm having hysterics, but a real one?"

"Sure."

Her smile broadened and she leaned upwards, planting her mouth over his. It was warm, she noted, very cozy and not at all awkward. She had never kissed Viktor, only Harry. This was their third kiss and it was even better than the last two. This was one where she thought clearly. A befuddled mind is not good to have during a kiss, because you never knew what you were feeling. Now, with her thoughts clarified, she felt this was the best thing that could ever happen to her.

Harry was thinking much along the same lines. Cho was slowly dwindling in his memory. Cho was a crush; someone he barely knew. Hermione knew him. Hermione was always there for him. Briefly he wondered why he had not seen this opportunity before.

A loud thump made them jump apart.

"Why, hello, Harry, Hermione!" Luna said cheerfully, still holding Ron's handlebars. She and Ron were at the landing, just having levitated up the stairs. "I'm taking Ronald to his room, but you're in the way."

"No, Luna, it's okay," Ron said steely. His knuckles were very white, as he was gripping the arm rest. "I want to talk to Harry and Hermione for a minute."

"Well, all right, Ronald," Luna said. She kicked the emergency brake on. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

She turned and stomped down the steps, leaving three very stunned people in her wake.

"So, um…" Ron started, nervously toying with the end of his shirt. "For how long…?"

"Since you were admitted," Harry said miserably.

"Oh, for about a week. Well. That isn't so horrible. I mean, if it had been going on for years…that would've been worse," he finished lamely.

"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione whispered torturously.

"Me? Yeah, of course!" He smiled brightly at them. "I mean, it's weird, but…hey, there are worse things. We're living proof of that, aren't we?" he said, forcing an airy laugh.

"This doesn't change anything between us, Ron," Hermione and Harry said at nearly the same time.

"'Course it don't. I've grown up a bit since 4th year, I hope. I'm not going to dump you. Who would I hang out with if I did?" His smile seemed even more forced now, but his voice sounded sincere. "Listen, guys, I wanna get some sleep. We have to get up early, y'know?"

"No, Ron," Hermione said. "Hang out with us. We won't be all over each other. We can just talk. Just don't you dare avoid us. I expressively forbid it."

Ron pursed his lips. "Y'know what, Hermione, you and my mum could change places."

Hermione managed a sour smile. "I'll take that as a compliment…well, what to talk about…Did you get your O.W.L scores?"

"Yeah, on the 21st," Harry said, "just before Pig showed up."

"What'd you get?" Ron asked, choosing to ignore the fact that he'd also gotten his scores the day his life was shattered.

"O's in Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against Dak Arts, Herbology, and Transfiguration, E in Potions, A in Astronomy, and T's in Divination and History of Magic. I'm an Overall E student."

"You got an E in POTIONS?!" Ron exclaimed. "I just barely scraped the bottom with an A. I got O's in Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology, E's in Charms and Transfiguration, A's in Astronomy and Potions, a D in History of Magic, and a T in Divination. I'm an Overall A student.

"And what about you, Hermione?" Harry asked. "Let me guess…O, O, O…"

"O, another O, and I just saw another one, let me take a picture, O…" Ron added.

"There's goes a mother O and it's three little O's, followed by the big father O…"

"All right, enough," Hermione snapped. "I only got 10 O's."

"You only take 10 subjects," Ron shot back at her.

Harry snickered, unconsciously putting his arm around Hermione's shoulder again. His arm momentarily faltered and stopped as he saw Ron staring, but he resolutely tightened his grip on her shoulder.

"Guys, I really am bushed," Ron said. "Could one of you just wheel me into my room and I can get into bed by myself?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked at Ron, then glanced at Harry.

"It's okay, Ron," Harry said. "I want to go talk to your parents for awhile. About why they never mentioned that they knew my parents."

"I'll help you, Ron," Hermione offered, standing up. Harry removed his arm as he stood with her.

They both headed to Ron's wheelchair. Hermione took the handlebars that Luna had once held. Harry stopped in his journey towards the stairs to grip Ron's arm, his fingers reaching all the way to the arm rest. Ron did not know just how happy Harry was to have him alive. The merpeople had taken Ron for a reason in 4th year.

Hermione gave him a quick peck on the cheek and pushed Ron's wheelchair into his room as Harry tramped down the stairs.

"You sure you're all right with Harry and me, Ron?" Hermione asked, pushing open his door. The door handle did not fully align with the doorjamb, and so the door could be pushed open without turning the knob.

"Yeah, I'm all right," Ron said with just a trace of a sigh. "I mean, it's you two. Anyone with eyes could see it was going to happen."

Hermione half-smiled as she pushed him over to his bed. "Glad you think so."

"So, have you been in love with him for long?" Ron asked bluntly.

"Not in love, per se," Hermione said thoughtfully. "But he was always there. I always felt connected with him. I found it impossible for me to fight for long with him. I felt…like I'd hurt worse if I fought with him than if I fought with you. I'm so sorry, Ron, but that's what it is."

Ron shrugged. "'S all right, Hermione. I guess friend fights are better than love fights. You have less to lose."

"I don't want to lose you either," Hermione said savagely. "Even if I'm not in love with you, I honestly would not be myself again if I lost you."

"You're not gonna," Ron said. "I'm gonna find who killed my brothers and make them pay. I can't get killed before I do that."

"Good." Hermione slung Ron's arm over her shoulder and hoisted him up, assisting him into bed. "I'll see you later, Ron."

"Later, Hermione."

* * *

"Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley."

Molly was lying across the couch, supporting herself into a siting position on the arm rest. Arthur was sitting on the rocking chair next to the couch, her hand gripped in his.

"Yes, Harry?" Molly asked softly.

"I guess this probably isn't the best time to ask, but…why didn't you tell me that you knew my parents?"

Molly put her other hand on top of Arthur's and squeezed it. "We thought it better that you didn't know."

"Why?"

"Because if you knew, you would wonder why we couldn't take care of you instead of your aunt and uncle. And you didn't know why you had to stay there. We considered it cruel to let you know that your parents' friends were still alive but couldn't take you in. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I guess it makes sense."

"There was not much we could about it, anyway. The Ministry would never have let any of us adopt you. We'd already had Ginny and were even poorer than we are now. Remus is a werewolf, Sirius was a convict, Hestia and Emmeline couldn't adopt due to the Ministry's patriarch system." Molly frowned at the injustice done to her two old friends. "Diana had just had Luna and they were still paying hospital bills. Amelia was grieving, Marlene was dead, and everyone thought Peter was, too."

"Wish he was."

"And besides…" Molly continued quickly, "we swore up and down never to mention Petunia being a witch to anyone. I don't see how we could've avoided it if we'd taken you in. We have old pictures lying all over the place…copies of the ones we sent Hagrid…others that didn't quite make it in. Those were the ones featuring us, the rest of Lily's friends, and your father's friends. In short, we sent you the ones with just Lily and James in them."

"Oh…well." Harry wasn't quite sure of what to say.

"Like this one." Molly took out her wand. "_Accio_ photograph."

There was a thud as the door to the attic opened and shut, and a photo came shooting down the stairs and into Molly's hands. She gestured Harry closer and pointed to the photograph.

"This was May in 1980, the year we graduated," she explained. "That's me. Arthur and I had gotten married in December the year before. Remember that I told you I'd never seen the Whomping Willow? I lied. Arthur and I, along with your parents and their friends, snuck out and got to the Shrieking Shack through it."

"Your father, Sirius, Remus, and Pettigrew had given up their sole rights to the Marauder's Map to help me get out," Arthur said. "That's how Fred and George know how to use the Map. I told them." He smiled, reminiscing. "You know, they weren't the only unregistered Animagi in the school."

"YOU'RE an Animagus?"

"Yes. I accidentally stumbled onto one of their midnight full moon romps in 5th year and they said that if I kept quiet, they'd help me become an Animagus. I figured it would be easier to sneak out and see Molly if I was an Animagus, so I complied. I suppose Remus didn't mention me being an Animagus before, for the double reason of not getting me in trouble and so you wouldn't know your father had other friends who were alive."

"What do you turn in to?"

Arthur stood from the rocking chair. With a pop, he instatnly transformed into a sheep. It baaed at Harry, wagged it's tail, and then transformed back into Arthur. "They called me Cudmunch."

"They called Lily "Tiger Lily", when they weren't calling her "Lils"," Molly said. "James and Lily didn't start dating until January of this year, at Andromeda's wedding. You remember Andromeda from that family tree in Grimmauld Place, right? That's her right there. She's pregnant with Tonks." Molly pointed out a woman with long, thick black hair and small black eyes, who was roughly 4 or 5 months pregnant. A brown-haired man, assumedly Ted Tonks, had his arm around her. "And there's Arthur and I. I was pregnant too, with Bill. I was about 4 or 5 months along, I got pregnant just before Andy…"

Arthur squeezed Molly's hand, then pointed to the picture as well. "That's Sirius and Remus right there. Remus was flirting with Marlene, see?"

Harry repressed a snicker as he watched his ex-professor trying desperately to flirt with a brown-haired, brown-eyed, skinny witch.

"Sirius is glaring at Amelia. They never got on too well," Arthur continued. Indeed, Sirius and Amelia Bones were shooting daggers at each other with their eyes. "Those two are Alice and Frank, Neville's parents. They got engaged not long after this. That's Hestia and Emmeline right there, and there's Diana with Apollo Lovegood. And there's your parents and your aunt," Molly said, pointing. James was standing inbetween the two sisters, his arm around either one. The girls were leaning across each other, their faces side-to-side against each other, and smiling at the camera.

"Why isn't Pettigrew in here?" Harry asked.

"He was taking the picture."

"Good. I might have had to destroy the picture if he was in it."

Arthur's mouth twitched. "I suppose so."

"Here, Harry," Molly said, handing him the picture. "It's yours. I have a dozen copies of it, anyway…the pictures that were Marlene's, Diana's, Alice's, Sirius's, your parents', and even Pettigrew's."

Harry took the picture by its frame and stared at it. He could just barely hear voices coming from the photo. Even as Sirius glared at Amelia, he was singing something by AC-DC. Remus was muttering incoherently to Marlene, who was looking slightly sorry for him. Andromeda and Ted were dancing and laughingly wildly. Diana was whispering to Apollo. Hestia was squeezing Emmeline's hand and grinning broadly at the camera, next to Emmeline's small, tight smile. Arthur was patting Molly's stomach and both were grinning. James and Lily were making silly faces at the camera and Petunia had a look that plainly said "Why am I friends with these people?"

"Looks like a fun group."

"We were," Molly said. "It all fell apart, but…" She placed her hand on the photograph. "Even if we're poor or dead or have conditions that make others discriminate us… we had those days, and I'm glad of it."

Harry pocketed the photograph. He thought he heard something like a dry sob from the hallway, and it sounded oddly like Petunia.

* * *

It was raining, so now it seemed like the whole world was crying with them. The priest's blessing over the coffins were falling on deaf ears.

Ginny was sobbing horribly, held against her crying father's chest. Molly looked the most terrible of all. She couldn't even cry, just stared ahead unbelievingly. Charlie was holding both Fleur's and Penelope's hand. The girls seemed beside themselves, and Harry thought that if they cried anymore they'd shrivel up like raisans for dehydration.

Ron looked horrible, too, a total mess. Though, Harry noted, not for lack of Luna's efforts, as Luna was patting his hand and saying something that included the words "angelic seraphim mice that guide souls" or some such.

Harry was also seeing Weasleys that he had never seen before. Arthur's maiden sister and last sibling, Camilla, was seated next to Arthur and Ginny. Next to her was Arthur's parents, John and Spica. Hary could see the uncanny resemblance between Spica and Sirius's faces and nearly convinced himself that Sirius had been adopted out and was really Spica's child as well. Also with them were Alphard Balck, Sirius's biological uncle, and his wife, Molly's aunt Marina.

Molly's maiden family, the Prewetts, were here too, but it was only her father, Samuel, her last reamining relative, except for Marina, who was born Marina Pembridge, sister of Molly's mother, Laura. Her older brothers, Gideon and Fabian, had died in the 1st War and her mother had died shortly after Voldemort's defeat from nerve disease.

The only people here for Hermione was her widowed grandmother, born with the name June Mons, as it appeared that her mother, baptized Demi Kirk, was an orphan and an only child, and neither Paul nor Demi had friends or they had lost all their friends around two decades ago. June was a formidable-looking old lady in a wheelchair that addressed John, Spica, Marina, and Alphard with a grim smile of recognition, and immediately started a conversation on their Hogwarts days in the 40's.

Etta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother, had arrived with said grandson, because, according to her sniff, she deeply respected Paul and Demi and even though Percy always rubbed her the wrong way, Bill had cut her lawn for her and she liked the look in his eyes. Neville had murmured his condolences to Ron and Hermione, which he immediately recognized as a blunder when Hermione started crying.

Hermione now sat next to Harry, holding his hand as she watched the pall-bearers lifting her parent's coffins and walking towards the door with them.

"Do you want to go out to watch them buried?" he whispered in her ear.

"Meadowlark," Hermione said robotically. "Maybe later…I have to be a smart meadowlark…Not now…"

"I understand." He squeezed her hand, sending a message through his eyes to Ron that Hermione was staying. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"Could you?"

"Sure."

"I'll stay, too," Ron offered. "Dad," he said as Arthur passed, half-carrying the squalling Ginny, "give me Ginny for a bit. She's a mess."

This was a stretch, because Ron did not look much better, but Arthur silently obliged and set his daughter down on the pew next to Ron's wheelchair. She hiccuped wildly through her tears, and Ron rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I…I guess I'll stay, too," Neville said, as Etta swept form the church, giving him an indignant sniff.

"I will, too," Luna immediately offered, seeing that the other five had all assembled around Harry and Hermione. Her father nodded and followed the throng of mourners as she sat down on the pew next to Ron, opposite to Ginny's. She leaned over, propping her chin on her fists and resting her elbows on her calves.

"So…" Ron started awkwardly. "So, Neville…how'd you do on your O.W.Ls?"

Neville seemed to soften his stiffened spine. "Better than I thought I would. I'm an overall A student. I got O's in Defense Against Dark Arts and Herbology, an E in Divination, A's in Transfiguration, History of Magic, Charms, and Astronomy, and a P in Potions. I expected a T, so I'm pretty happy about that." Weak laughter spread around the other 5. "Oh, and I got a new wand. Gran was actually pretty proud that I went to the Ministry with you guys, even if I destroyed Dad's wand. Said there's an Auror in me yet." He unsheathed a wand from his pocket. "Poplar tree and Unicorn hair, 10 inches."

The wand had been admired and placed back in Neville's pocket when Luna spoke up.

"Is the D.A. still going on?" Luna asked.

"Of course," Harry said. "I can't let it just die on us."

"Good."

"We're the leading D.A. members," Hermione said, softly but heard by all. "The first 6 to face down a battle with the Death Eaters. It only goes downhill from here, people. Sure you don't want to back out?"

"Absolutely not," Neville said.

"I quit the day that Tibetan monks kill a Bent-Back Marvalian," Luna said.

Hermione did not question Luna, but sent a searching look to Ginny. "You, Ginny? You sure you want to continue?"

Ginny looked down at her hands as she spoke. "If you think I'm backing down after what happened to Bill and Percy, you're delusional."

"That's what I wanna hear," Harry said, taking Hermione's hand again. "So, the Trio has gown to a Sextet. Sometimes change is a good thing."

"Yeah," Ron agreed softly. "Sometimes it is."

* * *

This chapter and the next are filler chapters but necessary for the future of the fic. Bear with me, please. 


	7. The Inseparable

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter.

Shout-out:

ERSM333-Thank you so much, I worked really hard on that chapter! Now, for H/H, I've always believed Hermione had a thing for Harry, and now that she needs him, Harry realizes that she has had a thing for him and that he was overlooking a good thing for 5 years. As for R/L, Luna has a crush on Ron but Ron doesn't have any feelings for her…yet.

* * *

The Inseparable

* * *

Half the train ride to Hogwarts was fairly quiet.

As per usual, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together, except now Harry and Hermione sat on one bench, fingers interlaced and her head on his shoulder.

Ginny sat, curled into an almost fetal position against the wall. Her injuries were healing, but she had to be handled delicately lest she reopen her wounds. Her parents hadn't wanted her to go back to school with them, but she'd insisted that she didn't want to miss 5th year, especially because this was her O.W.L year, and after all, she had survived being possessed by Voldemort; she could handle this. After much begging, they had allowed her.

Luna sat with them as well, reading The Quibbler, but this time, right-side up. She was holding her wand between her teeth and moving it with her tongue. Her earrings were at least normal, just sapphire studs, the jewelry of choice for Ravenclaw girls. Harry was still surprised to know that his mother and aunt had been friends with her mother and aunt.

And the thought of Petunia and Snape together was still almost incomprehensible.

And Neville sat with them, too, looking enviously at Harry and Hermione's hands every once in a while, but then turning and talking to Ginny.

"Harry? You all right?"

He had been staring out the window. He turned his head to get a good view of Hermione's curls.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Snape and my aunt."

"I feel ya," Ron said. "Imagine, if your aunt had stayed together with him, Snape would be your uncle! That, my friend, is the stuff of horror movies."

"Maybe he'd at least have liked me better."

"Do you think that you'll have to continue doubling with the Slytherins in Potions?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, someone seems to want us to always double with them," Harry said.

"Bet Pansy and Malfoy will be doing more than just potions in that class," Ron said, snickering. His voice turned falsetto. ""Oh, Draco, I just love to watch you handle the potions"!" His voice returned to normal. "Scarlet woman."

"Are you still saying that?" Hermione giggled.

"I think it's a good phrase," Luna said, lowering her magazine.

Hermione shrugged. Since losing her parents she wasn't such a stickler for perfection. Crookshanks, the only remaining item left connecting her with her house, because he fortunately had been out hunting mice when Aaron and Belicia attacked, leapt into her lap and she stroked him idly.

"Hey, Muddy-Bloodies!"

"Speak of the devil," Hermione muttered.

Their compartment door slid open and there, once again, stood Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe, but this time they were backed by Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and another Slytherin girl they didn't recognize.

"Heard you got attacked, Granger," Draco said. "Too bad you made it."

"Y'know, you need to learn some new insults, Malfoy," Harry said absent-mindedly, twirling a strand of Hermione's hair with his finger.

Draco ignored him. "I heard about your parents, too. Oh, excuse me, both sets of them. I can't believe you passed up a chance at being a real witch for a Squib and a Muggle!"

Harry felt Hermione's hand go rigid.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Demi Granger are dead, and as I was saying to Crabbe, the world's better off without them…"

"_Lastima se_!"

Both Draco and Pansy screamed as painful, red welt marks began to appear all over Draco's body. Pansy started crying hysterically. "What did you do, Mudblood!?" she screeched at Hermione, as Draco fell to the floor, nearly screaming as loud as Pansy.

"Just a little Pain Curse. Don't worry, it's not permanent. I'd get in trouble if it was." Hermione put her wand back in her robes. "Ginny, if you please."

"No problem, Hermione." Ginny took out her own wand and gave it a little wave. "_Chiroptera Bogle_!"

Bats were suddenly flying around the Slytherins's heads. Millicent screamed and ran away, but the other girl had been long gone. Crabbe and Goyle were left trying to fight off the bats and Pansy was shielding a moaning Draco.

"The Bat Bogey Hex. I must say, it's one of my better inventions," Ginny said, grinning, as she waved more bats from her wand.

"It's your only invention, sis," Ron said.

"Hmm. True."

Pansy found her wand and pointed it at Hermione. The bats disappeared. "You're going to pay for that!"

Harry dug out his wand and brandished it threateningly. "Just try it, Parkinson; you'll see what happens."

"Oh, isn't that sweet. A knight and his fair lady. Two blood traitors, so perfect for each other!" she sneered.

"Well, it's six wands against three, Pansy dear, seeing as there's only you, Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco left, and I don't think Draco's up to cursing us," Hermione said. "I'd suggest you just walk away and save yourself a lot of grief."

Pansy brought her wand down in a swoop…

"_Tarentellegra_!"

…and then collapsed on the floor, her legs wriggling uncontrollably.

"Oh, Pansy, I loved you in Lord of the Dance!" Ron laughed, twirling his wand between his fingers.

"Lord of the Dance!" Luna hooted.

Ron stared at her, not quite sure what to make of that.

Luna shrugged, looking embarrassed. "It was funny."

Goyle managed to grab the squirming Pansy and pull her out of the car, while Crabbe grabbed Malfoy's hand and dragged him away.

"And good riddance," Ron said viciously, slamming the compartment door. He plopped back down on his seat, grinning. "Jelly-Legs. Always there when you need it."

Luna smiled at him.

"This is a good year to be giving Malfoy his just desserts," Ron continued, ignoring Luna.

"Y'know, it's amazing how we've changed," Harry said after a short pause. "Remember our first day? None of us would've been brave enough to use those hexes on Malfoy."

"Yeah, Hermione probably wouldn't have noticed he was making fun of her. She'd be reading Hogwarts, A History for the 600th time," Ron said, smiling.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, then snuggled her head against Harry's shoulder. "We barely knew each other, and now Harry and I are dating."

"I kept losing my toad," Neville said. "I think I've got a good grip on it now." He held up a carrier, where Trevor the toad was sitting quite serenely.

"And poor little Ginny was crying because she couldn't go to school with the great Harry Potter," Ron said. "Now she's going out with Dean Thomas."

"Not anymore," Ginny said. "Didn't I tell you? Dean and Parvati are going out."

"Well, that's good. You don't need a boyfriend."

"Colin's been writing to me, though," Ginny said. "I decided to abandon older boys. They're all insecure. Why not go for someone my own age?"

Ron was struggling with himself; it was obvious to everyone who saw it. He finally managed to force a painful smile. "That's nice."

"And Luna wouldn't even be talking to us," Ginny continued. "She'd be siting in her own compartment, reading The Quibbler out loud to herself."

Luna put down the magazine and laid it beside her. "Well, maybe I should talk more." She was looking directly at Ron.

"We've all seen stuff we shouldn't have," Hermione said. "Do you think that if we hadn't been so keen on protecting the Sorcerer's Stone, things would've been different?"

"Yeah, we'd all be dead," Harry said. "Voldemort would've gotten his body back then and killed us all once he got a wand in his hand."

Ron, who had jumped a little at the name, said, "I nearly got killed anyway, playing on that chessboard. Let me tell you, being knocked in the head by a chess piece is not a pleasant experience."

Luna snickered, a little louder than was usual.

"I had such a huge crush on you then, Harry," Hermione said.

"Well, it's not just a crush now, is it?" Ginny asked coyly, grinning.

"No, I suppose not," Hermione said, squeezing Harry's hand.

Harry hung onto her hand. The thought of Oleta Dumbledore was still fresh in his mind.

"We're here," Ginny said, looking out the window. The castle was slowly growing in view.

* * *

Hogwarts was a center of bad memories for them, but it still felt like home. After all, it was here that they had found their best friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends; where they had been growing into fine wizards and witches; where they had been and still were building their lives.

"Firs' years, firs' years! Oh, Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Hagrid swept into their path. "Good ter see yeh!"

"Same here, Hagrid," Harry said, smiling up at his enormous friend.

"Hermione." He clamped his hand on her shoulder. "I heard abou' yer folks."

"Everyone has, it seems," she said coolly, thinking of Draco.

"I lost me dad, too. It's been a long time, bu' it still hurts ter think abou' him. I'm sure Harry and the Weasley's un'nerstan' the feelin'. Yeh just don' let yerself wallow in it, eh?"

Hermione stood for a few seconds, then very slowly hugged Hagrid.

"Thanks," she whispered, and when she pulled back she wiped away tears.

"An' you, Ron and Ginny, ain't gotten to you yet! How're you two holdin' up?"

"All right, I suppose," Ron said, not to convincingly. Ginny made a small noise.

"Well, yeh just do like Hermione an' don' wallow in it, eh?" He gave them both a one-armed hug. "Bill'd especially want you ter not be sad. I remember him at Hogwarts; never saw him upset once!"

"So, how's Grawp?" Hermione asked, wanting to get off the subject.

Hagrid's eyes shown, like a father with a newborn. "Learnin' fast, he is. Enough language to speak like a 6-year-old, and not rippin' up trees anymore! I'll be bringin' him inter the castle soon enough!"

Ron laughed, very weakly.

"Well, must be on me way! Got firs' years ter look after!" He stumped importantly away, yelling, "Firs' years!"

"At least he hasn't changed," Ron said.

"He seems very nice," Luna said. "I guess Ravenclaws have a bad idea of him."

"He fantastic," Hermione said, as they proceeded into the castle.

* * *

"A thousand and one years ago 

When I was newly made

The Founding Four gave me a task

That's most sad, I'm afraid

Because, you know, they would have me

Sort the students into houses

And from only your peers, you would

Choose your friends and spouses 

And as it is my duty

I must do as they commanded

Though I'm afraid the consequence

Will be most heavy-handed

To divide wisdom and industry

Is a task misguided

To separate brave and ambitious

Will lead to friends divided

And so place me upon your head

I'll tell you where to go 

And as you head into your house

The warning signs will show

Don't say you were blind to it

Because I told you what would come

I'll do the task; you do the rest

Deaths will be the sum"

The Sorting Hat fell silent.

There was awkward clapping from the Great Hall, except for Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and even Neville, who clapped viciously, and Ginny let up a cheer.

"That was some song, eh?" Ron said.

"Sometimes I think the Sorting Hat's the smartest thing in this school," Harry responded. "Besides Hermione, of course," catching the mock-reproving look she sent him. She beamed at him.

The Sorting went on, as it always did, and when the last first year was sent to Ravenclaw, Dumbledore stood up. He called for silence, then spoke.

"As our Sorting Hat has warned you, separating you will most likely lead to house friction. Indeed, we did not want to do it this year, but there is the problem of too many students being overcrowded into one area, so we must. Also, Quidditch will continue this year, as Madame Hooch has informed us the unused Bludgers often break out of their boxes and attack. However, we are lifting the 1st-year broomstick ban. From now on, all students have the right to possess a broom."

There was a loud cheer from the 1st years.

"As you will see in your schedules tomorrow, all houses will be taking the same class at the same time. That is to say, all 6th years will be taking Potions in the same room at the same time. Also, al years and houses will be taking Charm and Defense Against Dark Arts together."

There was loud cheering from all the tables except for Slytherin, who were less enthusiastic. A handful of people looked remotely interested. One was the girl who had stood with Pansy earlier on that day.

"We have found a new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, hopefully one who can stay this time around. Please welcome Nymphadora Tonks."

This was old news to Harry and the others. They clapped mildly as she spread out her robes and curtsied, before turning her hair into shocking blue and sitting to the squeals of several first year girls.

"Professor Tonks is an Auror who has generously offered to help us out. You may, as well, be seeing more of Professor Lupin this year, as he may be substituting for her when her duties call her away."

There were more cheers, especially from the Gryffindor table.

"I have three more announcements to make. One is that we have an old student returning to our school as a teacher. Kindly welcome Petunia Dursely."

Under the eyes of the entire Great Hall, Petunia grimaced and stood up from the Staff Table amid polite clapping.

"Circumstances in her 7th year caused her to leave the school. However, upon completion of her N.E.W.T's, she will join the school staff as Muggle Studies teacher, seeing as our old professor has decided to retire."

This was also old news to Harry and the others, who clapped nicely.

"My next announcement is about something you may have heard of last year. 28 of our students formed a secret defense society to aid the rather—well, useless teaching method Professor Umbridge used. This year, however, there is no need for it to be secret. All students who wish to receive further training in Defense Against the Dark Arts may sign up for it in their Common Rooms. If you feel you need parental permission, the list will stay there until Friday."

There were scattered claps, and then Dumbledore spoke again.

"As I'm sure you've read in the Daily Prophet, Lord Voldemort—" there was a collective jump, "—has returned and is gaining the power he had years ago. The only way to fight against him is to remain a strong, undivided force. Therefore, I urge you to work hard together, especially in the fields of Defense and Charms. Do not let house rivalries block the way of becoming an unbreakable shield against him." He paused, and just barely sighed. "That is all I have to say. Please, enjoy the feast."

Students went to their food slowly, letting the full effect of the words sink in.

"You know why they dropped the 1st-year ban, don't you?" Hermione asked. "And why they're training us harder?"

"Why?" Ron asked, his voice muffled by chicken.

"Because he's afraid. If Voldemort—don't choke, Ron—decides to attack the school, we need to be able to defend ourselves, or make a quick getaway. And our double classes are exactly for what he said. Unity. We need to defend each other, too."

"That's not a problem in our case," Harry said, squeezing Hermione's hand. "But that might be a problem for the Slytherins over there."

"Ha, ha. Ain't you funny."

The 6 of them looked up to behind Harry. It was Elizabeth Attison, the girl from earlier. They could finally get a good look at her, to see that her hair was a shining blonde. Her expressive eyes were gray, and they shown out of her pale face that was touched with pink.

"Given, Millicent's a git, and don't get me started on Pansy, but I have friends in Gryffindor."

"Elizabeth!"

A very short girl with chin-length dark brown hair, lighter brown eyes, and loads of freckles waved energetically.

"Wait!" Elizabeth yelled over impatiently. "_Ojo azules_." She tapped her temple with her wand, and her eyes turned into a rich, dark blue. "See ya." She walked away towards the waving girl, who was being pulled back into her seat by one of her friends.

"Yeah, I know her," Hermione said. "There are two girls in my dorm besides Parvati and Lavender. They're called Marcie Applegate and Lynn Windward, and they're friends with that Elizabeth girl. She—Elizabeth—once got Malfoy on a prank."

"Then how's she a Slytherin?" Ron asked.

"While the majority of Slytherins—how should I put it? Um—suck, as the Americans would say, there's always one or two who are in there because they care immensely about their futures. Slytherins are known for ambition, charm, and a bit of mischief, not evilness, Ron."

CRACK

"Dobby, you give me a heart attack every time you do that," Harry said, as a very, very happy elf suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Dobby has excellent news, Harry Potter! Very excellent news!"

"You poisoned Malfoy's food?" Ron asked.

"No, Harry's Weezey, other news!"

"Dobby, call me Ron. RON. R-o-n."

"Yes sir, Harry's Weezey!"

"Why do I bother?" Ron asked, throwing up his hands. Ginny giggled.

"What's the news, Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Winky's expecting, sir!"

"Expec—oh my God!" Hermione yelped. "Winky's having a baby? When?"

"Soon, Harry's Hermes, soon! Winky was so upset, Winky doesn't care for freedom at all, so Dobby gives her what wizards call a kiss! And Winky likes it! That was some months ago, sir, and now Dobby knows he loves Winky! So we gets what wizards call "married", sir, and now Winky says she's expecting! Dobby's so happy!"

"Dobby, that's great," Harry said, grinning. It was great to have good news of something, finally.

"Oh, sir, there's more! Dobby must give you a message. The new professor-woman standing with Professor Dumbledore wants you to see her. Petty, Dobby thinks her name is."

"Aunt Petunia? What's she want?"

"Dobby knows not, sir, only that she wants you in the Professor's office. And now Dobby must return to his Winky! Good day!" He disapparated again.

"I'll go see what she wants." He gave Hermione's hand a squeeze and then stood up. "Be back soon as I can, 'kay, guys?"

"All right," 4 of them chorused as one.

Hermione tugged Harry's hand so he leaned over to give her a kiss.

"You come back soon, all right?"

"Yeah."

* * *

"What'd you want to see me for?"

Harry was looking at both Dumbledore and Petunia. Dumbledore was sitting as his desk, and Petunia sat against the wall, staring at her hands folded in her lap.

"Your Aunt Petunia wants you to see something."

"My Penseive," Petunia blurted out. "I asked Professor Dumbledore to empty some of my memories into it. It makes some of the pain of the memories go away when you empty them out into the Penseive."

"And why do you want me to see this?"

"To…understand some things," Petunia said falteringly. "Like why I left…and why I didn't talk to your mother."

Harry's eye settled on the pale blue bowl resting and smoking on Dumbledore's desk.

"You sure you want me to see this?" he asked.

"Petunia and I have discussed it, and she wants to," Dumbledore said. He beckoned Harry closer. "Enter, Harry, if you want to."

He stared at the bowl, then crossed the room slowly.

He rested his hands on the brim and looked in. Shadowy figures danced around in it.

He dipped his fingers in it, feeling it ripple. Then, he took a breath, steeled himself, and buried his head in it.

* * *

Once again, filler, and I know it's shorter than the last chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it!PS, "Lastima se" is Spanish for "He/She hurts" and "Ojo azules" means "Blue eyes". That's prnounced "lah-stee-mah say" and "o-ho ah-zul-ays". "Chiroptera bogle" means "Bat Bogey. "Chiroptera" is the scientific name for "Bat" and "Bogle" means "Bogey" 


	8. Memorabilia

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

A/N-This chapter may confuse people, but all loose ends will be tied up next chapter, so don't worry.

* * *

Memorabilia

* * *

He was in Hogwarts so many years ago. He figured that this must be the end of his aunt's 7th year, according to Dumbledore's account earlier. That made it 1980, since she had been born in 1962.

Someone passed right through him. He shivered as the memory went through his body. It, of course, felt nothing. It was only a shadow of time gone by.

He stared after it. The girl had long, dark brown hair swishing back and forth as she walked. She was extremely skinny and her skin was yellowish.

"Petty!" someone called from behind her.

Harry felt another memory go through him. It was another girl, this time with brown hair shining with natural red highlights.

"Stop calling me "Petty", "Lils"," the other girl said, and as she turned around Harry recognized her as none other than a young Petunia Evans.

"Lils" stopped in front of her.

"How's my Hufflepuff sister?" Lily Evans asked, grinning and hugging Petunia. "How'd you like that exam?"

"So easy it was laughable," Petunia said. "You?"

"Same here. I finished early. And of course, Mr. Potter did, too, so he spent the rest of the period staring at me. I love him, but he is so creepy, Petunia!"

Petunia laughed. Harry had never heard her laugh before. It was soft and loving, as Petunia slung her arm around Lily's shoulder. "Sorry to hear that, sis."

"I am famished, sister dear. I've got some Chocolate Frogs in my dorm. Care to join me? It'll be just you and me. I feel like it being just us girls, but the others are off with their significant others, or in Marlene and Amelia's case, studying."

"Nah, I've got somewhere to be."

Lily stopped smiling. "Mystery man again?"

Petunia nodded.

"Petunia, you scare me so badly. You should never have told me that dating him was dangerous."

"Stop worrying about me, Lily. I've been dating him for a year and a half and nothing has ever happened."

"At least tell me who he is."

"Not unless you stop calling me Petty, and then maybe."

Lily gave her a half-smile. "All right. You just be careful, okay?"

"Yes."

Harry felt something under his feet move. The room was spinning. Suddenly, he was zoomed across the hallway, out a secret door, out into the courtyard, and behind Hagrid's hut.

He saw his young aunt from earlier. She was sitting on the grass, holding up a small bottle of what looked like soda pop.

"Cheers," he heard a male voice said, and looked to see a boy. He squinted, and then his mouth dropped open in recognition.

It was Severus Snape.

But not the Snape he knew. He was young, his face unlined, his black hair clean and well-brushed, and his eyes...they didn't have that look of utter hatred or annoyance in them. Today, they were sparkling and directed straight at Petunia.

It was an odd thing, for Severus Snape and Petunia Dursely to be 17 and 18, sitting on the grass behind Hagrid's hut, having what looked like to be a picnic, with a Harry from 24 years later watching without them knowing.

"1 and a half years," Petunia said, smiling. "I feel like I have a hanger in my mouth."

"I'll fix that for you, Pet."

"Oh, really? How?"

"Like this."

Both of them leaned in for a kiss, and Harry found himself suddenly awkward, though knowing perfectly well they couldn't see him. Almost like he was intruding on something sacred.

He tried to imagine the Snape he knew like this, and found it impossible.

"I guess years do some things to people," Harry said to himself. They, of course, did not hear them.

Petunia gave Severus another quick kiss, then drank out of her can. "So, you came up with this all by yourself?"

"Yeah."

She grinned at him. "So you are at least somewhat romantic. I thought some of those potions had affected your brains."

He made a mock sour face at her, and snorted. "Thanks, Pet."

"No problem, Severus."

She gave him another quick peck, and suddenly the ground was spinning again under Harry's feet. He was shot forward again, but this time, hours passed instead of minutes. The sun was slowly fading from view, and the moon took its place.

He stopped short as a terrified shriek and yelling voices filled his ears. He ran towards them, rounding a corner to stop short at what he saw.

What looked like a version of Crabbe was practically pinning Snape to the wall, his wand pointed at his throat. Another person, a version of Goyle, was holding Petunia, her arms pinned against her side.

Two other people stood inbetween them, a woman and a man. Harry's eyes widened. The man was Lucius Malfoy. The woman was Narcissa Black.

Narcissa muttered something that sounded horribly like "_Crucio_" and her wand sparked. Petunia shrieked again. She was covered with red marks, and multiple streams of blood was slipping down her forehead.

"That's what you get, Mudblood, for deciding to get involved with Snape and not even having the brains to hide it enough," Narcissa said. "Just say the words, and I swear I'll let you go. Just say you give up on him, and you can skip off to your dorm."

"No!" she screamed.

"Oh, really, then? Well then, dearest one, do the honors, please?"

Lucius smiled, waved her wand, and Petunia screamed.

"Now, don't you have something to say, Severus?" Lucius Malfoy asked pointedly, smirking.

Severus stole a quick, anguished glance in Petunia's direction. And then, suddenly, his face rearranged. His mouth spread into a smirk to match Lucius's.

"I must admit, this was a good plan, wasn't it?"

Even the future Death Eaters looked surprised at that.

"Couldn't have worked out better. It's amazing how stupid a Mudblood can get, isn't it? Well, she's a Hufflepuff, so we'll have to excuse her for that."

"Severus, what are you saying?" Petunia whispered, clearly disbelieving.

"I mean, dearest Petunia, that I have been playing you for the sap. Our whole thing has been leading up to tonight, when I would "accidentally" lure you into a trap. Bloody brilliant, not even these guys knew it. I've been playing you all for fools and I must say, I'm quite enjoying this."

"You're…you're lying." Her eyes were slowly widening.

"No, I'm not. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to do." He roughly pushed the older Crabbe away. "Pray, continue."

He disappeared into a corridor.

"Come back!" Petunia screeched, tears mingling with the blood that was still running down her forehead. "Severus! SEVERUS!"

"Well, that was odd," Lucius said. "But that's Severus for you. Well, shall we continue?"

"Gladly, darling," Narcissa said, squeezing her future-husband's arm. "On the count of three." They raised their wands. "One…two…"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Lucius swore under his breath as a different figure ran out. Her hair was deep brown and pulled into a tight knot. Minerva McGonagall was barely recognizable at the age of 39, but her voice was not different. It still had the note of authority and dignity it'd always had.

And she was backed by Lily.

"Petunia!" Lily ran around McGonagall and shoved Narcissa roughly aside. She knelt by her shivering, bleeding, crying sister and flung her arms around her. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" she shrieked at Narcissa and Lucius, tears starting down her face as well.

"Lily, he betrayed me, he turned his back on me, he led me here!" Petunia whimpered, then grabbed her sister's robes at the shoulder and buried her face into them, sobbing.

"Who? Who did, Petunia? I swear, I will kill him!"

"No threats, Miss Evans," McGonagall said tiredly. "Take her to the hospital wing. You four, we're going up to the Headmaster's office, and if you're lucky, straight home and not to a court room."

"Petunia, Petunia honey, tell me, who led you here? Who sent you to get yourself killed?" Lily demanded.

"Miss Evans, don't badger your sister, just take her upstairs!" McGonagall practically squawked.

"Yes, Professor," Lily said bitterly, getting Petunia's arm around her shoulder and then hoisting her up.

The ground started to spin again, but before he was shot away something caught his eye. A shadow of someone in the hallway.

Was it Snape? Why was he there? He had left; they'd seen him leave.

But it looked so much like him…

Before he could figure it out, he was shot along again. The sun rose and set twice, leading to two days after the accident.

"Petunia, Madam Pomfrey says that you can go back to your dorm today," Lily said, sitting on a hospital bed where a convalescent Petunia lay.

"I'm not going back to my dorm," Petunia said.

Lily looked slightly taken aback. "Well, then, I'll try and see if they can move you into my dorm. We'll be going home soon enough; it won't matter much."

"No, Lily, you don't understand. I wrote to mum and dad. They're bringing me back home now. I'm not returning to the magical world. I'm getting a job for the summer and going to night school."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "But…but Petunia, you can't! Why are you leaving?"

"I can't stay here any more. Not after what happened."

"Petunia, Lucius and Narcissa and their brainless followers, they're suspended for the rest of the year and they'll be lucky if they can buy their way out of Azkaban! You don't have to worry about them!"

"That's not why I'm leaving!" Petunia yelled. "You don't understand!"

"Well, I would if you'd tell me!"

"Just forget it! Just leave me alone!" Her eyes snapped with indescribable fury. "I hate you!"

"Petunia, come on, honey, just go back to your dorm, Amelia and Hestia will look after you—" Lily said desperately.

"No! Stay away from me! I never want to see you again!"

"Petunia!"

"GO AWAY!"

Lily stared at her sister in silence as Petunia lay, red-faced and fuming.

"Very well then," she said coolly. "If you change your mind, just come to my dorm. If you don't, I'll see you in a few days when I come home."

She turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Petunia buried her face in her hands and cried.

The room began to spin again, and suddenly Harry felt as if a hand was pulling him. He sped upwards until his head emerged from the Penseive, followed by the rest of his body. He landed on the floor, too shocked by the memories to brace himself to land on his feet.

He picked himself up and looked around the room. Petunia face was buried in her hands, and she shuddered as she breathed in and out deeply.

"Harry, those were flashes from your aunt's 7th year," Dumbledore explained quietly. "I suppose you understand everything that happened, then?"

"No, not…quite," Harry said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Snape had left the room when Lucius and Narcissa were attacking her, but just before I left the memory I saw him in the hallway leading out from the room. He looked like he was…watching."

"Probably was. Watching to see me suffer," Petunia said angrily. "I can't believe I allowed myself to trust him—"

"Petunia, don't upset yourself, that's not why you showed Harry this," Dumbledore interrupted quietly. "And even if he was, he's on our side now."

"Why DID you show me this?" Harry asked, looking straight at his aunt.

Petunia began to wring her hands. She was still looking at her lap. "You saw, Harry, how close your mother and I were, and you know firsthand that changed. I wanted you to understand why…because I owe you that. I was never strong, like Lily was."

"If that hadn't left…or if that never happened, but you still had to take me in, do you think that we would've…gotten along better?"

Petunia finally looked at him. Her eyes were shining with tears. "Do you know, Harry, I think we would have."

* * *

"See, Hermione, I've been telling you for years, Snape's evil and always has been," Ron said.

It was Saturday, the next day. By the time Harry had returned, whispering the password Dumbledore had told him to get in, all of them were asleep. Even Hermione, who had waited up for him in the Common Room, was asleep on the sofa. He'd had to carry her up to the girl's dorm and have the anti-boy charm removed by Lavender so he could put her to bed.

And now, the Golden Trio was standing in the hallway, discussing Petunia's memories.

"Oh, for God's sake, Ron. Did you not listen to all that Harry said? He said Snape was in the hallway after he left! Why would Snape stick around to get caught if he HAD set her up?"

"Don't ask me to think like he does."

"Yeah, it's too much to ask you to just think, isn't it?"

"That, Hermione Emma Granger, was very rude," Luna cut in, glaring at the older girl. She had just arrived in time to hear Hermione's insult.

"Oh, quit your bickering, all of you," Harry said, and Ron, Hermione and Luna fell silent. "Look, I'm going to confront him about it."

"He'll poison you," Ron said automatically.

"I don't care. I've been waiting for years to nail him on something and this is it."

"Harry, do you want me to go with you?" Hermione asked.

"Nah, I better do this alone."

"At least let me wait outside for you," she said, insisting.

"Yeah, if Snape kills you, you'll need a witness," Ron said.

Luna snickered, very loudly. Ron stared at her.

"All right."

Hermione glanced at the giant clock on the wall, the clock that never needed resetting. "We can make it before the stairs change if we go now."

"Hermione. You've actually timed the changing in the stairs?" Ron aked incredulously.

"You've just noticed?" Hermione smiled. "See ya, Ron. Harry, if you're ready?"

"Yeah."

The two disappeared down a hallway.

"She doesn't seem to respect you too much," Luna said conversationally.

"Who, Hermione? She's always been condescending."

"Is it her way of expressing affection?" Luna asked, her tone changing slightly.

"I guess." Ron snorted. "'Cept she should be talking Harry down, now that they're dating."

"Did you two ever date?"

"What's with the 3rd degree?" he shot at her.

"I'm just curious."

"I'll say."

"So, did you ever date her?" Luna asked, either ignoring or not hearing Ron's comment.

"No, okay?!"

Luna seemed just slightly taken aback. "Did you want to?"

"It's none of your business," he snarled. "Why do you have to be so creepy, anyway? Why must you always stick your nose in other people's business? Why can't you just at least act normal for once, Looney?!"

He stopped immediately when he saw her eyes glaze over, shining. He recognized this look. This was the one 6-year-old Ginny had had whenever Fred had pulled her pigtails and said she had worms growing out from her head. But Luna's face seemed to portray hurt a thousand times worse.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I went too far, I'm just in a bad mood—"

"No, you made yourself perfectly clear, Ronald Rupert Weasley!" she yelled. With one swift flick of her arm, she pushed him aside and ran away, pushing inbetween two Slytherin girls who were on their way to their dorm. They laughed as she ran.

Ron was left standing there, gaping after Luna.

* * *

"Mr. Potter, this is not a school day, so to what do I owe this intrusion upon my only time away from student-induced headaches?"

"I want to talk about my aunt."

Snape stared fixedly at Harry. "What makes you want to talk about her, Potter?"

"I saw her Penseive. I know you two were together, and as much as it makes me want to hurl to admit it, you seemed quite happy with her."

"Oh? You do realize, Potter, that was 24 years ago?"

"I'm relatively good in math, so I figured that out," Harry shot back. "I'm also pretty keen on observations…no comments from the Peanut Gallery. What were you doing in that hallway?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black were torturing my aunt, you said you had led her there on purpose just to get a good laugh at them all. And then you walked out. McGonagall walked in almost ten seconds later. And when we were leaving that particular memory, I saw you standing in the hallway. What were you doing there, huh?"

Snape looked…It was difficult to place what his expression was. It seemed almost…torn.

"That, as I have pointed out, was 24 years ago and has nothing to do with what's going on now."

"Uh-huh." Harry pursed his lips condescendingly. "So, it's just like Ron said. You're evil and you always were! You have quite the time of it toying with people's emotions, don't you? Do you know that what you did to her not only make her leave magic, but cut all ties with her sister, too? Do you know what kind of man she married just to get away from magic? But, of course, it's not like you care! I suppose she was just another mudblood waste of carbon to you—"

Snape's hand shot out and grabbed Harry around his upper neck, fingers digging into his skin. Snape's eyes were glittering with a fury Harry had never seen before. This went beyond loathing. It was pure rage.

"Don't you ever…say that about us again," he hissed.

His free hand reached under his desk. He produced a blue bowl, misting like boiling water. It was his own Penseive.

"So you want to know, Potter, what happened?" He swirled the bowl slightly, colors from different memories changing to keep the pace. "Let's not waste time, then."

Viciously, he tugged Harry headfirst into the Penseive.

He was back in the hallway, watching as Petunia was tortured. Her shrieks seemed even louder and more terrified than before.

"SEVERUS!"

Snape brushed past and went down a hallway, Harry tailing him.

He stopped suddenly, and Harry almost fell through him.

Snape took out his wand, pointed to himself and muttered, "_Camino_."

He took off like a bullet. Harry started to run after him, but before he could he was already in another part of the memory.

"Professor, you were right, Narcissa and Malfoy are already starting," he said, to the younger McGonagall.

"Good work, Severus," McGonagall said.

"Just remember that you can NOT tell anyone. Not ever. Take it to your grave."

"Of course."

She pointed her wand and muttered the Speed Charm. She was gone in an instant. Snape followed suite and sprinted after her.

And Harry was yanked along to another memory.

"Severus."

"Lucius," Snape answered on the same vein.

"Quite an interesting joke you pulled last night. My trunks are packed already. I'm leaving today."

"McGonagall must've been pretty thorough with her report," Snape answered.

Lucius snapped out his wand. "Listen, you filthy git, I know you had something to do with us getting caught. Telling me you were posing with her the entire time is insulting my intelligence. I don't like being insulted, Severus."

"I suppose you'd like being incarcerated worse, so I suggest you put that away."

"Are you being smart with me?" He aimed his wand straight at Snape's throat. "I should've seen this from the start. How uneasy you look when we meet with the Dark Lord. How unwilling you look when we're carrying out his plans. The riot on Halloween, the attack on the werewolves last month…you never wanted to do that, did you, Severus? That mudblood twisted you up quite well, didn't she?"

"You are insane, Lucius. Kindly leave the room."

"You're the insane one, Severus." Lucius's eyes suddenly went from cold to careless. "All right, Severus, say you were posing with her. You wouldn't mind if I went up right now and finished her off, then, would you?"

"You don't have the guts."

"Severus, please stop making a fool of yourself. I have absolutely no qualms with going up there and killing her now."

Snape's wand was in his hand. "If you touch her, I will kill you."

"Finally, you admit it!" Lucius sheathed his wand, grinning. "I have a deal for you, Severus."

"What?" he asked, dangerously quiet.

"I, nor Narcissa nor anyone else, will ever touch your mudblood girlfriend again, if, and only if, you rejoin the Dark Lord with every fiber of your being. If your loyalty ever falters again, we will not hesitate to kill her in the most painful way imaginable. Understood?"

"What if I just killed you now?"

"Narcissa is on hand upstairs. If I don't meet with her in five minutes, she will kill the mudblood without hesitation."

Snape lowered his wand. Pure, unmitigated hate was radiating from every inch of him. Harry was almost frightened by this teenage Snape who could neither hear nor see him.

"Fine. Now get out."

"Gladly, Severus. I'm as good as my word. The mudblood will remain unharmed." Lucius bowed lightly, and then swept out of the room.

As Lucius shut the door, Harry felt the room spin again, and suddenly he was being swept backwards. He was being pulled back out of the Penseive.

He emerged from the Penseive with Snape's hand still around his neck, until Snape tossed him like a rag doll onto the floor.

The two stared at each other for a long time, each trying to read the other's face. Harry was trying to put together the two Snapes: the almost 18-year-old pure-blood Slytherin who had sincerely loved a Muggle-born Hufflepuff, and the 42-year-old who had toyed with him for the past 5 years.

"That "personal risk" that Professor Dumbledore was talking about when you rejoined our side," Harry finally managed to say. "Was that…my aunt's life?"

"Since you are so "keen on observations", Potter, I imagine you'll come to your own conclusion." He began to shuffle some papers on his desk.

Harry picked himself up. "How can you just sit there with my aunt right here in the castle? I've seen the two of you in her Penseive; you two were lovesick idiots!"

"I reiterate, Potter, that was 24 years ago. She has married and had a child, and I have a career. We have not spoken to each other since our 7th year. I regret showing you my memories, Potter, if you can't grasp that realization."

"Why did you show me that?" Harry immediately shot.

His face hardened. "Get out."

"No."

"I said, "Get out"," Snape hissed, standing up menacingly. "Now."

Harry glared at Snape for a long time, and he returned the expression.

"Fine, then," Harry finally said. "But I think you owe my aunt an explanation. And if you don't tell her, I will."

He turned his back on Snape. Before his teacher could say anything, Harry took out his wand, pointed it to himself, and muttered, "_Camino_."

He managed to stop himself outside the door, where Hermione had been waiting nervously. She was just removing her hand from where it had been pulling her hair.

"Harry! Are you all right? What did he say?"

"I'll tell you as soon as we find Ron. It saves the hassle of telling it twice."

He suddenly grabbed up her hand with both of his.

"Harry?"

"Hermione, you know I love you, right?" he asked.

"Harry, you know I know. Why do you ask?"

"I'll explain later. But it's good to know that you understand." He kissed her.

"Harry James Potter, you are a strange one," Hermione said, eyes smiling. "Well, I'm absolutely dying to find out what happened, so please, let's go find Ron."

Harry smiled at her, then muttered the Speed charm and grabbed her wrist before they took off together.

* * *

I'm just a bit wound up right now because I just read one of those "Harry Potter is demonic" things and it made me upset. Sorry to waste your time with that, just had to spread the word.  



	9. The Troubles of Utopia

Disclaimer-I do not own Harry Potter or the quote from Rent

* * *

The Troubles of Utopia

* * *

"Harry, Hermione, you will not believe what Luna just did!" Ron said, seeing them approach. Harry had removed the speed charm and now they were walking normally.

"Well, if you tell us, we'll believe it," Hermione said.

"It was right after you said that "You just noticed" remark," Ron said. "She was saying how you don't respect me too much. She got all weird and asked if we ever dated. So I told her we never did, and she asked me if I wanted to. And I…I got mad at her and told her she was a nosy freak. She started crying and ran off."

"Oh, Ron, you screwed up bad," Harry said.

"That's what Ginny said when I told her about it."

"Well…we all know that Luna and I are not on the best of terms," Hermione said, "but I do think you went a bit far, Ron."

"Why does this happen? Am I just gonna make stupid mistakes until one day I wake up and know exactly how girls work?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Harry said.

"Oh, Harry, don't be a moron," Hermione said, giving him a little shove. "I think the first clue that you went wrong was calling her a nosy freak. Did you at least apologize?"

"I tried, but she pushed me aside and ran off before I could finish."

"Doesn't sound like Luna," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Normally she wouldn't care what anyone says about her, unless they were insulting her father." She thought on it for a moment. Then, a slow, sly smile spread across her face. "Oh."

"What? "Oh" what?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Have you ever noticed how she laughs at only your jokes?"

"Well yeah, but I thought she was just being spooky," Ron said.

"Have you ever noticed how she always takes up your defense?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know that she ran straight to St. Mungo's just to see if you were okay?"

"Well…George mentioned something along those lines…"

"Has she ever pouted her lips and called you "Pookie"?"

"Yea—what?"

Hermione smiled. "Just making sure you were paying attention."

"Hey, you've never pouted your lips and called me "Pookie", Hermes," Harry said coyly.

"That's because I respect myself, Harry," Hermione answered automatically.

"What's your point, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Oh, isn't it obvious?! Luna fancies you!"

Ron opened his mouth, and closed it, like a beached fish. "B-but…"

"I would've thought you'd recognized the symptoms, both of you, seeing as how you've both had crushes before!"

"What?!" they roared unanimously.

"Well, Harry, there was that obvious bit of fancying on your part towards Miss Cho Chang."

Cho. Harry had nearly forgotten about her. He barely remembered what she looked like, and so far had not seen her.

"And you, Ron, your crush on me in both 2nd and 4th year was so transparent it was painful."

"Me? A crush…on you?!"

"Oh, don't bother covering it up, Ron, you're terrible at lying."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ron exploded.

"Well, a good portion of second year was spent with me either covered in fur or Petrified. And most of fourth year was spent with Viktor. Plus, it would've been immensely awkward to say anything, especially because you are so lousy at expressing your feelings."

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm beginning to think that Luna was right. You don't respect me too much."

Hermione flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Luna, I think, was trying to point out something wrong with me, because she obviously noticed that you had fancied me for a while and she's…she's jealous."

"That sounds sort of conceited," Ron said.

"It's just theory, Ron. How about this, maybe she just doesn't like me. Happy?"

"That's not exactly good either…"

"In any case, Ron, you owe her an apology and an explanation, and you should do it soon."

"All right, I will," Ron said, chewing on his bottom lip. "So, Harry, what happened with Snape?"

"You won't believe it," Harry said, whispering conspiratorially as someone passed by. "Snape actually went for McGonagall after he left my aunt with Malfoy in that hallway. And it gets even stranger…Malfoy threatened Snape to get him to join Voldemort! He said he would kill my aunt if Snape wasn't completely loyal to Voldemort!"

Ron twitched slightly at the name, but pressed on. "And Snape…he actually did that? He actually did something to save your aunt's life?"

"Yeah…I guess that he turned spy so that he could keep on fooling Malfoy into keeping his end of the bargain while doing something for our side."

"That doesn't sound like Snape, though," Ron said. "Maybe…maybe he found out that your aunt had married someone else…and he was so angry…he decided to forget about her and come back to our side? So Malfoy could just kill her if he wanted to?"

"No faith in human nature once again, Ron," Hermione said. "But…it sounds like…that could be it. What do you think, Harry?"

"Ron's idea sounds more like Snape, but then, it's unlike Snape to be with my aunt," Harry said slowly.

"Maybe we've all had…at least a slightly flawed view of him?" Hermione suggested tentatively.

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions about him yet," Ron said fiercely. "He's still been an arrogant git for 5 years."

"Hmm. Well, Ron, you'd better get around to apologizing to Luna," Hermione said.

"Yeah, yeah, all right," Ron said. "I think she might be in our common room; Ginny said that she had run in there to tell her about it."

"All right. We'll stick around out here for now," Harry said.

"See ya, mates," Ron said, waving a little as he walked off.

* * *

Ron fiddled with the sleeves of his robe as he made his way toward his Common Room.

It wasn't unthinkable or even surprising that Hermione knew that he'd had crushes on her for two years. It was still slightly awkward.

Maybe it went in cycles of two years. 1st year-hated her. 2nd year-loved her. 3rd year-hated her. 4th year-loved her. 5th year-not quite so much hated her as tolerated her. 6th year…

This year was a weird year. Harry and Hermione were together, something that Ron knew in his heart of hearts would always happen. The two were just so perfect for each other. The Golden Boy and The School Brain.

He'd always felt a little like the third wheel, a sparrow among eagles. Maybe that's why he'd been fancying Hermione. Aren't people always fascinated with what they can never be?

So why did Luna fancy him, he wondered? There was nothing really special about him. He wasn't all that great a Quidditch Keeper, though that last game had been rather awesome, if he did say so himself. He wasn't especially brilliant; his O.W.L results showed that. And the last useful thing he figured himself doing was sacrificing himself on that Chess Board so Harry and Hermione could get through to the Sorcerer's Stone. He hadn't even had much of a role in saving his own sister in 2nd year.

He thought of Luna and how she was always hiding behind her magazine. Did she feel like the odd man out, too? Or was that her nature? Was she anti-social or one of those Muggle people in the 60's, called Hippies? Was she just so disgusted with society that she had to be the exact opposite of it? Or was she just raised that way?

Just how little did he know about her?

"Flibberflabber," Ron said, and the Fat Lady swung open her portrait hole. He climbed into the Common Room.

"Ron, she's asleep," Ginny said, looking up from the table where she was doing her Charms homework. "I got her to finally stop crying about twenty minutes ago and she fell off for a nap before she heads back to her own Common Room."

"Um, I…I guess I'll wait here," Ron said.

Ginny raised her eyebrow, but said nothing, just flicked her hand over to the direction of the couch.

Luna was curled up in a not quite fetal position, her knees bent and her arms resting on her calves. A few strands of grey-blonde hair hung in her face but most of it was swept back.

Ron noted how she didn't look so strange when she was asleep, but unlike most people, she didn't look childlike either. She looked…pretty.

Forget pretty. Beautiful. Downright gorgeous.

Feeling like a fool, he sat down at the end of the couch and simply watched her sleep.

"Mommy? Mommy?!"

Ron nearly jumped out of his skin when Luna started screeching. Ginny turned around and stared.

"Mommy, please don't die, we need you! Daddy will go…Mommy! MOMMY!"

"Luna, wake up!" Ron leaned over and grabbed her shoulders. He yanked her upright and shook her. She jiggled like a rag doll. "Luna! Come on! Wake up!"

Luna's eyes shot open so suddenly that Ron threw her back in surprise and leaned backwards so far he might have fallen over the arm rest.

Luna's normally content, mysterious eyes were bloodshot. All of a sudden she had a haggard look to her, like a beggar who had barely survived until the end of winter.

"Luna?" Ron asked, very carefully. "Are…are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

"Were…were you dreaming about your mother dying?" he continued tentatively. Harry had mentioned that Luna could see thestrals, which meant she had seen death, and her shouting obviously meant it was her mother who had died.

She still didn't answer.

"Luna?"

"I miss my mommy," Luna said softly. "I'm almost 15, I need her! Daddy needs her!"

"Hey, it's…it's all right," Ron said lamely. He slowly reached out and patted her shoulder.

"It's not all right! We need her here! Especially with Voldemort here!"

Ginny jumped and squeaked at the name, and Ron's insides gave a little leap when the name escaped Luna's lips. Even though he had been insane at the time—and fighting off killer brains—he had seen Voldemort, recognized him, and had never seen anything so sinister. Harry and Hermione could call him by name—because they were either responsible for killing him or rational—but Ron couldn't bring himself to say it.

Luna, apparently, didn't have any problem saying the name, but her bloodshot eyes seemed to widen even more than they were, making her seem like a person who had witnessed gruesome murders and just barely escaped herself.

"Mommy was so strong; she could fight his Death Eaters!" Luna breathed. "Daddy can't…and I can't…"

"Luna, come on, hey, it's all right," Ron said, still feeling foolish as he began to stiffly rub her shoulder up and down. "We've got an Auror training us, and all those extra defense lessons, and your dad's in the Order, isn't he? I'm sure you'll both be okay."

Luna began to chew her ring finger nail. "But, Ron—ow!"

"What?"

"My nail broke." Luna took her hand down to show it.

"JEEZ!" Ron said, taking her hand in his two and staring at her nail. Half of it was ripped off. "You'd better take that to Madam Pomfrey, it could get infected…um…"

He suddenly realized that he was holding Luna's hand. He glanced up at Luna to see that a faint, dark pink was rising in the apples of her cheeks.

"Yes, it hurts a lot," Luna said, back to her usual tone of voice. "I'll go right up to Madam Pomfrey, and I'll meet you downstairs for dinner, all right?"

"Y-yeah," Ron said. "You do that."

"Good-bye, Ronald," Luna said, standing up.

"Uh, Luna," Ron said quickly.

"Yes?" Luna was halfway to the door.

"You can…you can just call me "Ron" from now on," he stammered.

Luna beamed at him, her cheeks red. Her eyes were still bloodshot. "I'll do that, Ron."

Luna climbed out the portrait hole amid snickers from Ginny.

"What're you laughing at, Ginny?"

"Oh, nothing," Ginny said in a sugary, bubbly voice. "I'm going to go meet Colin for dinner. I'll see you downstairs."

* * *

Luna stopped, hesitatingly, outside the door. She didn't want to enter; she never did.

She stared at her ring finger as she felt a tug at it. The other half of her nail was re-growing very slowly. It inched its way over the tip of her finger before it finally created a perfect fingernail.

She gasped as writing appeared on it. Written in crimson blood were the words: "Don't even try it".

Luna clamped her lips together. It had not told her to go in. She didn't have to.

Breathing a very audible sigh of relief, she slowly made her way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

* * *

Petunia let out a very big sigh as she sat on her bed. The former Muggle Studies teacher had left the room sparkling clean, so there had been little left to occupy her time after she had unpacked. And she had not much to unpack. She didn't dare return to her house; God only knew what was crawling around on # 4, Privet Drive. All her clothes and small necessities were brand-new from Diagon Alley, and felt cool and impersonal when she thought of her home.

Sighing again, she traced the outline of the Hogwarts Crest on the bedpost. She never thought she'd walk these halls again. She never thought she'd come within 100 yard of this facility again.

All of these memories. She remembered she, Lily, Amelia, Marlene, Molly, Emmeline, Hestia, Diana, and Alice had sat and giggled in Lily's dorm, teasing each other and trying to guess who Petunia's mystery man was. She had lain dreaming about this "mystery man", before he had ultimately betrayed her, of course, thank God McGonagall had run in when she did. Where she had spent her last night in the castle, crying, hating Snape for betraying her, her friends for not understanding, and herself for pushing Lily away.

So many bad memories, and so many good.

"Mrs. Dursely!"

6th-year Susan Bones was knocking on her door. Petunia had a hard time looking at her, because she looked so much like her aunt Amelia, who had been her best friend other than Lily. It was at least easier to look at her than at Harry, though, as Amelia was still alive.

"Come in, Susan."

Susan opened the door. She had a particular interest in Petunia, seeing as her aunt had been Petunia's best friend.

"Professor Snape wants to see you."

"Tell him I'm busy at the moment."

"Please, Mrs. Dursely, he said that it was of the utmost importance," Susan continued. "He wants to see you in his office."

Petunia sighed sharply. "Fine, Susan. Give me a moment and I'll be down."

Susan flashed a smile at Petunia and then scuttled out of the room.

Petunia sat on her bed for a long minute. Then, she picked herself up, brushing and smoothing out her robes—when had she last worn robes!—and left her room.

* * *

"Make this quick," Petunia said. She was glaring at Snape from across the office, keeping as far away from him as possible.

"I wanted to show you this," he said thickly, "Before you get a different version of it from your nephew."

He put his hand on the rim of a blue bowl.

"Your Penseive, is it?" Petunia sniffed. "And what exactly are you showing me? All the plotting you did to get me in that hallway?"

"If I had plotted something, would I show it to you?" Snape answered steely.

Petunia stared at him sullenly, but didn't answer.

"Just look in it, okay?" he snapped.

"You sound like you're a teenager," Petunia said.

"We were teenagers in this Penseive. Look in it. If you don't like what you see I will not bother you again."

"Deal," Petunia said.

Snape pushed the Penseive over to her as she crossed the room. She looked into it and then at Snape, and back again at the Penseive.

Then she buried her face into it.

* * *

"You…you joined the Dark Side to keep me alive?"

Petunia's head was out of the Penseive. She'd suddenly had the need to sit down after she had seen the contents of it. She had taken Snape's seat. He had not argued.

"Yes."

"Why was I never told? Dumbledore, he could've told me, or McGonagall!"

"I swore McGonagall to secrecy, as you see I remembered. And Dumbledore did not know anything of it until I started spying in earnest."

"But why wasn't I told?!"

"Why? Because it was still dangerous for you to know. What if you returned to the wizarding world, and Lucius discovered that I had broken our accord? You would have died."

She was trembling in the seat, barely able to take in this knowledge. For years she had believed that she had been betrayed by Severus, only to discover it had been a plot all along. Bewildered, she asked the first question that came to her head.

"Why? I mean, you must've found out that I'd gotten married. Did you still continue to care about me? Or were you so angry at that fact that you rejoined Dumbledore's side without any heed of my safety?" Her tone was bitter.

"Believe that if you wish, and you sound remarkably like Potter and Weasley in thinking so."

"But if that's the case…why did you remain a spy?"

Snape's expression changed. Hardened features he had carried for 24 years seemed to soften, just slightly. He opened his mouth to answer.

KNOCK

Snape's face went back to its usual lines.

"What?" he yelled harshly.

"It's Tonks," a female voice said.

"Enter," he said.

The door opened and Tonks walked in.

"What does our new Defense teacher want?"

Tonks's voice wavered and a tear was on the verge of spilling out of her eye. "There's...there's been a Death Eater attack. On Muggles. Apollo Lovegood just brought us the news. 106 dead. And, Petunia…" The tear spilled out, followed by another one. "Two of them were your husband and son. Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

Petunia's face blanched. Her whole body seemed to go limp and droop, like old, forgotten lettuce.

"Vernon…Dudley…"

She slumped over in a dead faint.

* * *

Harry couldn't comprehend it. The thought just would not enter and take hold in his brain.

His uncle and his cousin were dead.

How often he had wished for this! To be rid of those single-minded, prejudiced, abusive relatives! But for them to actually be dead! He couldn't believe it.

Tonks had told him the news when he had spotted his aunt being whisked up to the hospital wing by her and Snape. She had stopped and tearfully told him the news before rushing off, this time to her office. And he had been standing in the hallway, not moving, for 5 minutes.

Hermione, who was with him, snapped her fingers in front of his face, trying to get him to answer her.

"Harry? HARRY?"

Harry suddenly shuddered and looked to face her. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? Do you want to go up and see your aunt?"

"I'm…I'm okay," he said. "No, I want to eat something. My stomach feels like a pit. I'll go up and see her later."

"But, Harry, they were your relatives!"

"Aaron and Belicia are your relatives, too! Would you be too upset if they died?!"

Hermione stiffened. Her expression looked sick.

"Oh, jeez, I'm so sorry, Hermione," Harry apologized quickly, looking stricken.

"Your relatives never killed anyone."

"My relatives abused, neglected, and ridiculed me for nearly 15 years straight. Excuse me if I'm not terribly upset."

Hermione stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry to sound preachy, Harry, when it comes to something like this. But since I lost my parents, I've realized how important family is. I don't have siblings or cousins; all I've got is my grandmother, and she's near death with grief."

"I'm sorry, Hermes," Harry said, putting his arm around her shoulder and squeezing her. "Look, how about this. I'll head up to see my aunt and then grab something leftover from the kitchen. You can tell Ron and them where I've gone."

"All right," Hermione said. "Do you want me to go up and see you?"

"Nah. I'll go up alone."

"Okay."

He gave her a quick kiss, and then headed for the stairs leading to the hospital wing.

* * *

"Remus, I'm so worried."

Remus looked up at Tonks from beneath his eyelashes.

"That Death Eater attack was right near where my parents live. Dad's so ill and Mum's taken up with taking care of him…I just worry that they won't have the strength to keep it up."

"It'll be okay," Remus said, standing up and going to her.

"I wanna believe that so badly…and I try to stay cheerful for all our sakes…but I just feel like I'm gonna lose everything." She sighed. "I miss Sirius. I wish he was still alive."

"I do to." Remus sat down in her chair.

Tonks sat down on her desk, facing him. "He was like a favorite uncle, even though he was really…what do you call your mother's cousin?"

"Second cousin."

"Oh…well, he was like that for me. Did you know that when my grandfather refused to walk Mum down the aisle, because she was marrying a Muggle-born, Sirius did it for her?"

"Tonks, I went to Andy's wedding."

"God, you can call my mother by her nickname! I keep forgetting you're 18 years older than I am. And that's another thing I'm worried about,"

"What, that I'm going to die first? That's not a given, Tonks."

"I know it's not, but it's still a factor. You also have lycanthropy, and that's a big problem. Not with me, Remus, but with your chances of survival. There are ways of getting to a werewolf without using silver bullets."

"You don't have to worry about me, Nymphadora."

"I hate it when you call me "Nymphadora"."

"And I hate it when you worry." He put his hands over hers and leaned up to her face. "Please don't worry about me more than necessary. It's not a given that we'll come out alive. All we can do is try to survive, and protect each other. You're an Auror; you understand that."

"Yes, I understand that."

"So, smile, Nymphadora."

"Only if you stop calling me "Nymphadora"," she laughed.

"Ha. You laughed anyway."

She gave him a kiss, then wrapped her arms around his head and held him to her chest.

* * *

Harry stared straight across his aunt's bed to where Snape was.

He was still having a hard time believing that his least favorite teacher and his aunt had once been young lovers, though he had seen it with his own eyes twice over.

"Why was she in your office?"

"She was seeing the Penseive."

"What did she think of it?"

"Not a thing in especial," he answered tartly. "I bid you adieu, Potter." He headed away.

"If you love her so much, why don't you stay with her?" Harry asked, with the exact same tone as Snape.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again after this, Potter. 24 YEARS AGO. Good-bye."

The curtain around the bed snapped shut, and a loud thud was heard as the door was slammed behind Snape.

The thud seemed to jolt something in Petunia, because a small moan escaped from her lips.

"Aunt Petunia?"

"Sev…Severus. Severus! SEVERUS!"

* * *

I've seen something rather disturbing on the news, about the South Korean man who was executed. Send your thoughts out to his family as well as Paul Johnson's, and every family regardless of race or religion that has lost someone in the war.  
  
And please, pass this message on. In any review you give, in any story you write, in any changes you make to your bio, please send this thought along. If it won't spread throughout the world, by God, it'll spread through Fanfiction.net!  
  
And don't forget to review while you're at it, okay?  



	10. Thoughts For The Dead

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

Shoutouts:

rosepetal13-Thank you, for both the compliment and for sending your thoughts to the Johnsons.

* * *

Thoughts For The Dead

* * *

Petunia managed to stand up late the next morning, Sunday, September 3rd. She just had no energy to drag herself from the cot beforehand. Mourning had zapped all life force from her.

Her husband and son were her last connections to the safe world of Muggles. Now that they were gone, she was completely a witch again.

Plus, she felt like an incredible heel, calling out Snape's name just minutes after learning that her husband was dead. She had loved her Vernon to bits, and had supported him through everything, even in his neglect of Harry. And Dudley, her baby, had been the light of her life.

But had she really been happy these past few years? She struggled with herself over this question more than anything else during her recovery. Her life had been pretty mundane, even with Harry coming, and there hadn't been much passion or fire in anything she did. Her life had consisted of cooking, cleaning, and little else.

"I'm just thinking that way because I'm in mourning," she told herself firmly when she left the hospital wing. "I'm just upset. That's all."

She made her way down the stairs unassisted, to the disapproving glare of Madam Pomfrey. She had last come down these steps to pack up her trunks before her parents took her home. Lily had watched her pack, silent. The last time they ever glimpsed each other at the school was when Petunia was in the car, and Lily had given her a crisp good-bye, still stinging at what Petunia had said the day previous.

Oh, yes, she had regrets. Hundreds of them. Leaving the school, not listening to Snape, abandoning Lily, treating Harry like dirt, never telling her family that she was a witch…

Her eyes smarted at the thought of her deceased family, and suddenly she realized that she was almost completely alone in the world. Her entire family was dead except Harry, and he hated her guts. Two old friends, Diana and Marlene, were dead. Alice was locked up in St. Mungo's and would be there, most likely, for the rest of her life. Molly was too depressed to leave her house. Emmeline and Hestia were never around. She had not seen hide nor hair of Amelia, and God only knew where she stood with Snape now.

Her whole life had been one downward spiral since she had left the school. She was 42 and had nothing to show for her years.

She crumpled up against the wall and sobbed.

* * *

Luna sat in the Ravenclaw common room, which had been dubbed The Eagle's Nest since before she had come here. Her quill was poised to do her Charms homework, and yet she couldn't bring her hand down to the paper.

She could still see the scar outlined on her hand. Not long ago it had born the legend: "Remember your mother".

Remember? How could she forget the horrible explosion that had disemboweled Diana Lovegood, nearly also killing 9-year-old daughter? How could she forget the following days, fearing for her father's sanity?

She scratched her quill against the parchment before she realized that all the ink had dried up. She dipped it in her inkwell and started writing.

She stopped when she saw what she had written.

"Someone help me."

She brushed it with the feather, but the ink refused to erase. She rolled it up neatly, but then crumpled it. She went to the window, dropped it, and watched it flutter down to the Quidditch field below. Lonely, disregarded.

Just like she was.

She needed to get out of here, and quick. She needed something to make her feel better; something to ease her mind.

She needed her mother.

She slammed her book shut and shoved them in her bookbag. She sprinted across the length of The Eagle's Nest towards the portrait hole. She shoved it open roughly, savagely, so the portrait squawked in pain and indignance. But she didn't care. She just kept running.

"Luna?"

She stopped in her tracks at the sound of her name being spoken. The last person she wanted and the first person she wanted all at once had called her.

"Yes, Ronal—Ron?" she said.

"Where are you running in such a hurry?"

"No where in especial," Luna said, making a successful attempt at her usual mystic tones.

"Well, I'm heading down to the kitchens for a snack. Harry and Hermione are already there. Wanna come with?"

Luna raised her eyebrows, and Ron couldn't believe that those words had just left his mouth. He was inviting Luna to go somewhere with him. Luna, the girl who had creeped him out all last year, who'd had a fit just yesterday.

Who had looked so beautiful sleeping yesterday…

"No, I cannot," Luna said. "I have to go somewhere."

"Where?"

Luna fell silent.

"Are you just trying to get away from me?" He didn't know why that thought angered him suddenly.

"Of course not, Ron!" Luna yelped.

Ron was taken aback. Luna was suddenly slipping out of her characteristics these days. "Well, where are you going?"

"I cannot tell you."

Ron sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever. I'll see you, Luna."

He turned his back and started to walk away. He had not taken five steps away when…

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"I guess…I don't need to be there as urgently as I thought I did. Would you still like me to come with you to the kitchens?"

"If you want," Ron said, trying to sound offhand.

"Thank you." Luna ran to him and grabbed his sleeve, pulling herself so that she was right next to him. He noticed this and pretended he didn't.

* * *

"Winky's not working anymore, Harry Potter and Miss Hermes!" Dobby exclaimed proudly.

"Betcha Winky loves that," Harry whispered in Hermione's ear. They were sitting on the floor of the kitchens, amid the hustle and bustle of elves overachieving their cooking work. While Dobby had understood why putting the word "Harry's" before the other's names was annoying and had stopped it, their names were still to hard to pronounce.

Hermione shot him a playful glare. "That's good, Dobby. Making an expecting mother do hard labor is a crime against humanity. Or elvenry, if you want to point a fine point on it."

"Which everyone knows that Hermione loves to do," Harry said quickly, earning himself a jab courtesy of Hermione's elbow.

"Dobby has heard that Harry Potter and Miss Hermes love each other like Dobby and Winky do," Dobby said. "Is Miss Hermes going to have Harry Potter's children soon?"

"Whoa, Dobby, slow down," Harry said, putting up his hands, eyes widening. "We've only been dating since late July. Bit early for that, don't you think?"

"Y-yeah," Hermione said, her face suddenly bright pink and her eyes as wide as saucers. "I mean, we're not even married. We're only 16!"

"16! That's old for a house elf, Miss Hermes. Dobby is 20 years, and should have had 3 more than this coming one!"

"It's not quite so old for wizards, Dobby," Harry said, rubbing his temples.

"What's not so old for wizards?" a new voice asked, as Ron climbed into the kitchen, Luna at his heels.

"Dobby thinks that I should be having Harry's babies starting now," Hermione said.

"Well, that's understandable," Luna said. "After all, elves generally have a baby a year starting at about 16—"

"As Dobby was just saying, Miss!" Dobby piped up. "Who's you, Miss?"

"I'm Luna Selena Nokomis Cynthia Diana Artemis Tsuki Gwendolyn Phoebe Lovegood."

"I'm Dobby, Miss Looney!" Dobby grinned at her. "Is you with Mr. Weezey, Miss Looney?"

"I'm Weezey," Ron said dejectedly.

"I'm his friend, I hope," Luna said. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stared at her.

"Like Harry Potter and Miss Hermes?"

"No, just friends, Dobby," Ron interrupted quickly.

"Oh, Dobby doesn't understand wizards and witches!" the house-elf moaned.

"Dobby, you is rude, you is!" a house-elf yelled from the corner. "You's best be givin' them their food and goin' back to you's wife!"

"Dobby can stay as long as he likes!" Hermione piped indignantly.

"Miss Hermes, Dobby wishes you wouldn't!" Dobby squeaked. "House-elves gets mean when one of they's own breaks rules or is disrespecting the masters!"

"Oh, honestly, they infuriate me sometimes!" Hermione fumed.

Harry laughed and slung his arm around her. "Calm down, Hermes."

Hermione smiled wryly. "So, Dobby, how is Winky doing?"

"Just wonderfuls, Hermes!"

"Picked any names for the baby yet?" Harry asked.

"Hatty for a girl, Potty for a boy!"

"Pray God that it's a girl," Ron muttered.

"I want a baby girl," Hermione said suddenly.

Harry, Ron, Luna, and Dobby all looked to her.

"When I get older, and married, I want to have a little baby girl. Emma Demi. Emma because that's my middle name, and Demi for my mother."

"I want a girl, too," Luna said. "First, at least. Phoebe Diana. Or Selena Artemis. Or Cynthia Gwendolyn. Or even Tsuki Nokomis, if I wanted to be exotic."

Hermione and Luna looked at each other for a long moment. Finally…

"Those are pretty names," Hermione said.

"Yours is, too," Luna said.

They gave each other rare, small smiles.

* * *

"Petunia?"

Petunia jerked her head up, startled.

"Severus!" she gasped, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I didn't hear you coming. How long have you been there?"

"I just arrived."

"Oh. Um…well. I'd…better be going, shouldn't I?" she said nervously, picking herself up.

"I was sorry to hear about your family," he muttered.

"Hmm? Oh, oh, that. Yes, well I…I can't be in bed forever, can I?"

"No, I suppose you can't."

There was an awkward silence.

"Oh, I want to thank you for showing me the Penseive," Petunia said. "I'm sorry I never asked you about it before. Y'know, my stubborn attitude has ruined my life lots, hasn't it? I mean, if I hadn't been such a donkey, Lily and I wouldn't have been estranged. I could've graduated; I could've worked in the Ministry. Maybe you and I would still be together." She sighed. "Well, "woulda, coulda, shoulda", eh? I'll just have to deal with the fact that I'm alone."

"I don't think…you're quite as alone as you believe you are."

Petunia gave him a wry smile. "Thank you, Severus. I think I've been pretty unfair to you, and myself, too. Thank you for bothering with me again." She took his hand in both of her, and unconsciously noted how it suddenly warmed. "If we could be friends again, that would help me immensely."

"…Yes, of course."

"Good." Petunia wiped the last remaining tears from her eyes. "I'm going back to my room now. Later on I'm going to a wizard cemetery were my family is buried. I reckon my family and Hermione's are the only non-magic people to be buried there."

She gave him a small, wry smile and then walked away, leaving him staring after her, wondering where all the time had gone since 7th year, 1979-80.

* * *

Harry looked down at his magical watch and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Guys, I need to get ready!" he said. "My aunt and I are going to the cemetery in a little while with some Order members."

"Why didn't you mention anything?" Ron asked. "I'll go with you."

"Me too," Hermione said.

"You sure you two are up to it?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between his two closest and oldest friends, remembering the beginning of August when the Trio had gown into a Sextet.

"Yeah," Ron said. "Gotta say my good-byes, don't I? Percy will haunt me if I'm not polite enough to say good-bye to him and Bill."

"You, Hermione, you're sure?" Harry asked, looking to his girlfriend.

The tip of her mouth raised in a would-be smile. "Yeah. This meadowlark is ready to remember the past."

"Meadowlark?" Ron asked, confused.

"Never mind," Hermione said. Ron picked up that it was a Harry/Hermione thing and had developed enough tact over the years to not press it.

"I'll go with you guys, too," Luna suddenly piped up.

All three stared at her.

"I want to visit my mother's grave," she explained.

"Well, we better get going, then. We'll see you, Dobby. Tell Winky we say "hello"."

"Dobby will do that, sirs and misses! Good-bye!"

* * *

"You're assigned to go with us?" Harry asked incredulously, staring up at the towering form of Snape.

"Don't sound so enthused, Harry, Snape will think you want him to go," Tonks said sarcastically, grinning at him. She was standing next to Snape, her fingers laced around her wand. Remus stood next to her.

"It's just us three, Harry," Remus said. "But then, we weren't expecting you to bring Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. We thought it would just be you and your aunt. You do know, Miss Lovegood, that your father is elsewhere on business for You-Know-What?"

"I know," Luna said. "Professor Lupin—ouch!"

She suddenly grasped her side.

"What's wrong, Luna?" Ron asked.

"Just a stitch," Luna said, waving her hand. "I wasn't hit by a heliopath, if that's what you're thinking."

Ginny shook her head. She and Neville had joined the group after the four had arrived in the common room, bearing the news of their visit. "Luna, sometimes I just don't get you."

"Were you going to tell me something, Luna?" Remus asked.

"Oh, no, it's not important," she said, waving her hand.

"If you're sure. Well, then, grab hold." He put his hands on a statue, and the others followed suite.

And they were jerked along through the Portkey towards the cemetery at the Church of St. Mungo.

* * *

It was cool, and occasionally a chilly wind blasted through their cloaks. But the sun was bright, warming their faces and necks, and the haze distorted their view of the graveyard.

They entered quietly, the only sounds the crunching of fallen leaves and grass, and the last few birds singing from the trees surrounding the area.

They split up to visit individual graves.

Harry wound up in front of his parent's graves. He had never found the opportunity to come here, having stayed in the sanctuary the only time he ever visited this church, so this was his first glimpse of their graves.

He crouched down in front of them. They were directly side by side, their gravestones bearing the Gryffindor symbol. Written underneath the lions were their epitaphs.

"James Adrian Potter. Born March 21st, 1962. Died October 31st, 1989," he read under his breath. "Son of Timothy Elijah and Gloria Haley Potter. Brother to twins Belinda Erica and Jennifer Tabitha, and Rowena Jessica Potter."

He stopped there. He had aunts besides Petunia? Why had no one informed him?

A quick scan of the surrounding graves immediately explained. Belinda and Jennifer shared a grave not too far away, and Rowena was laid next to them. Alongside those graves were Timothy and Gloria's, his grandparents. All of them had died in 1980, 8 years before he was born.

Mentally promising himself to look into those graves after his parents', he turned back to his father's.

"Husband of Lillian Geraldine Evans. Father of Harry James Potter. Beloved friend of Sirius Hamal Black, Remus John Lupin, and Peter Judas Pettigrew."

Harry pulled out his wand and tapped Pettigrew's name. "_Borro_," he whispered. The name disappeared, to his grim pleasure. He added the word "and" inbetween "Black" and "Remus"

"Auror in the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

That wouldn't do. James would be ashamed to have Voldemort's pseudonym on his grave. Harry tapped the name and said, "_Borro_." The name was wiped off. He pressed the spot with his wand, whispered "_Escribo_" and the name "Voldemort" appeared where the other name had stood.

Beneath the writing was a picture of his father. He knew that the wizarding world put the best picture of the deceased with the headstone, and he peered closer.

James was riding his broomstick, holding on with one hand. In his other arm he held a bundle of blankets, just barely revealing the tuft of black hair that was Harry. Holding onto the back of him, the wind blowing her hair off her face, was Lily.

He turned away from the picture and set his eyes on his mother's grave.

"Lillian Geraldine Potter. Born May 15th, 1962. Died October 31st, 1989. Daughter of Christopher Marcus and Mallory Cassandra Evans. Wife of James Adrian Potter. Mother of Harry James Potter."

He supposed that either someone had overlooked the fact that she had a sister, or they had been told not to put it there. He wondered briefly if he should add Petunia's name. Deciding that that had better be left to Petunia, he pressed forward.

"Beloved friend of Amelia Susan Bones, Hestia Vesta Jones, Alice Christina Longbottom, Diana Phoebe Lovegood, Marlene Allegra McKinnon, Emmeline Cecilia Vance, and Margaret Julie Weasley. Head Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and also St. Mungo's Hospital for Children and Childbirth."

The picture below showed Lily surrounded by her friends, who were throwing confetti in the air. She was blushing and holding newborn Harry, while James kissed her cheek.

Harry jumped suddenly when he felt a hand graze his shoulder. He looked up to see Petunia standing over him.

"I've found your uncle and cousin's graves," she said. "I suppose it's too much to ask for you to see them with me?"

"I think it'd be better if we went separately," he said through gritted teeth. He didn't feel that her grief and his confused relief would mix too well.

He pointed towards Lily's grave. "Look at that, Aunt Petunia. "Daughter, wife, mother, friend". It doesn't talk about "Sister"."

"My parents were already dead, and I hadn't spoken to her for 10 years. I think everyone forgot she had a sister." She smiled bitterly. "No more."

She pulled out her wand, a 10 ½ inch Beech wand with a unicorn tail hair, the spoon attachment removed. She pointed to the stone inbetween the period and the word "Wife".

"_Escribo_," she muttered.

Harry watched as words were pushed aside as "Twin Sister of Petunia Fiona Dursely" was suddenly embossed on the stone.

She tapped the ground inbetween the two graves and muttered "_Crezco flores_". Several pale lilies and violet petunias sprouted out from the ground.

"I saw your friend Hermione do it to the graves she was at and decided to try it myself. You can guess why I chose to plant lilies and petunias."

Harry suddenly felt his throat close up.

"I'll be on my way now," Petunia said, slowly backing away, then turning and leaving.

Harry stared after her until her felt someone else's hand on his shoulder. He leaned his head sideways and back to see Hermione. Her eyes were red, and thin, pink streaks marked where tears had run down her cheeks.

"You okay?" they asked simultaneously, and then laughed bitterly at their chorus.

"Your mother was pretty," Hermione said as she crouched, looking at the two pictures at the foot of either gravestone. "And it is absolutely terrifying to see how much you look like your father."

"If I had a Knut for every time someone said that, I'd never need to work in my life," Harry said.

"I don't look much like either of my parents, either set of them," Hermione said. "You could say I have Belicia's hair, but mine's thicker and curlier." She sighed. "I still would so like to torture them for what they did to Mum and Dad. I'd learn an Unforgivable if I had to. Yes, I'm very aware of the legality, or lack thereof, of those curses, but I just don't care. You feel the same way about Pettigrew, don't you, Harry?"

"Yeah." Harry's face suddenly warmed with anger. Just thinking of that pathetic little man made his fingers itch to choke something…strangle it…kill it…

His scar suddenly exploded with pain. He had a fleeting vision of cloaked, masked figures…a skull…a snake.

"HARRY!"

Hermione grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Harry, your eyes went red…you looked like you were going to strangle me! Harry, is it…?"

"It's Voldemort," he said, loudly, firmly, so clear that everyone in the graveyard heard him and stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him, horrorstruck. "He's sending something…Death Eaters. I saw Death Eaters. They're headed for us."

Luna gave a small gasp from not far away. "Harry—ah!"

She was on the ground, clutching her ankle.

"I tripped," she said in explanation. They had little time to wonder at the fact that she had not been moving. "Harry, we should go. Now."

"No time, they're—GET DOWN!"

He grabbed Hermione and forced her onto the ground, and the others hit the deck as a stream of green light suddenly soared over the graveyard, inches away from where Ginny's head had been just half a second earlier.

Tonks whipped out her wand from where she had stuck it in her pocket. Her entire expression, her whole body language, had gone from its usual cheerful, humorous mood to a rigid vigilance, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Lupin jumped up too, brandishing his wand, and Snape was soon to follow. In their current mood, no one noticed that he had moved in front of Petunia, with the fierce, protective attitude of a guard dog, like Sirius had shown towards Harry when Remus had transformed in 3rd year.

Remus raised his wand. He seemed to be focusing in on something. His eyes narrowed and he breathed in deeply. It was almost like he was sniffing something out, like a true wolf.

"Tonks," he whispered.

"Got it," she answered.

"On three. One…two…three!"

"_STUPEFY_!" they screamed together.

Identical red beams exploded from the tips of their wands into the surrounding woods, and there was a howl of indignation and surprise.

"10 of them. 8 now, we just took out two of them," Remus said. "They're trying to stay hidden."

Snape grimaced, and pointed his wand directly at a tree. "_Reducto_!"

The tree blew backwards and apart, just as a shadowy figure ran from behind it to behind another tree.

"There!" Remus shouted, pointing his wand.

Harry whipped out his own wand, aimed it, and a split second before the words left Remus's lips, he screamed, "_Vuelas_!"

A shout of agony was heard, followed by a sickening thud and crunch.

"They have to come out now; they can't ignore that," Tonks said. "You six," she waved her hand in the general direction of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. "Start heading for the Portkey. If you see a Death Eater, run. Don't attack except to defend. KEEP YOUR WANDS OUT. Go…NOW!"

Ginny and Neville took off first, both grabbing their wands. Ron grabbed Luna's arm and hoisted her up, and they jogged sideways, switching back and forth from watching the forest and Ginny, keeping their wands pointed directly at the trees.

"Hermione, go," Harry said, grabbing her shoulder and tugging her.

She wrenched herself free. "No."

"Hermione!"

"I know that Aaron and Belicia are there. I just know it. I'm going to stay right here and kill them."

"Hermione, come on!"

"No!"

"Fine! I'm staying here, too! You're not going to die while I run!"

"They're here!" Tonks screamed, as the first figure left the safety of the forest, followed by two more.

"Ginny, run!" Ron shouted, catching up with his sister and giving her a shove. "Get to Hogwarts!"

"Ginny! Tell Professor Dumbledore—AAAAHHHH!" Luna screamed.

She suddenly fell to the ground. A gash appeared on her back calve, blood oozing out as muscle was exposed to sun.

"Luna!" Ron screeched, skidding to a stop and running back to her. Blood was coloring the grass around her. "What'd they hit you with?"

Luna shook her head wildly.

Ron swore so badly that Ginny and Neville nearly stopped in their tracks. He pointed his wand at a Death Eater just leaving the forest and screamed, "_VOMITA_!"

The Death Eater suddenly stood rigid. He shook convulsively, then dropped to the ground. Retching sounds were heard, as a disgusting mix of brown and white poured from his mouth.

"IDIOT!" Tonks screamed.

Ron ignored her. He was looking at his wand. He had just performed the Vomiting Curse, a curse that, though it paled in comparison to the Tuberculosis Curse Ginny had been hit with, still took a powerful amount of magic.

"I've never done that before," he muttered. "I've only read about it…"

"Ron, come on!" Ginny yelled from twenty feet away. "Hurry! _Stupefy_!" she screamed, along with Neville, as a Death Eater advanced towards them.

"Luna, can you move?"

Luna picked herself up delicately. "Ron, I—GAH!"

She fell to the ground again, this time holding her arm. A deep cut was appearing at the crease of her elbow. The blood from her leg was still pouring out at an alarming rate.

Without hesitation, Ron swooped her up, one arm under her knees, the other arm supporting her back. Unable to mask her surprise with her face, Luna sat in silence as Ron bore her on towards the Portkey.

* * *

"_VUELAS_!!" Harry screamed, pointing his wand at a Death Eater.

"_Protego_!" the Death Eater screamed in a female voice, and the jinx bounced off her. She brandished her wand. "_Cru_—"

"_Finite Incantatem_!" Hermione yelled.

The woman was blown off her feet and sent flying through the air. In a blur, Harry wondered why she hadn't exploded like the Bludger in second year. Reasoning that it was harder to blow up a person than a ball, he looked over to the woman Death Eater.

Her mask and hood had blown off with the force of the attack, and Harry saw a tall woman with curly, dark brown hair, tanned skin, and deep blue eyes.

Hermione strode over to the woman, stopping 5 feet from her.

"Why, hello, Belicia, I was just thinking about you."

Belicia picked up her wand, but Hermione anticipated it.

"_Immobulous_!"

Belicia suddenly froze. The only parts of her still moving were blinking eyelids.

"I heard that you did this to my mother. Not fun, is it, to lose control of your body? Can't talk, can't move…can't even scream."

Hermione brought her wand down, and the last words Harry expected to ever pass her lips rang through the graveyard in a deadly, clear voice.

"_Crucio_."

Belicia began to shake uncontrollably as the curse hit her. She looked like she was trying to scream but couldn't.

"I heard you laugh when you did this to her. Hysterical, isn't it? An absolute riot. _Crucio_."

Belicia's back arched a millimeter. The expression on her face was of such anguish that Harry almost felt sorry for her.

"You're going to feel what she went through, trying to prevent you from getting to me. _Crucio_."

A small moan escaped Belicia's mouth. Her eyes screwed up, and red blood began to stream out from the corner of her closed lips.

"Hermione, that's enough!" Harry leaped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back. "Stop it!"

"She deserves it!" Hermione screamed. "She did this to my mother while my father had to watch! She's getting her due!"

"Hermione, I…said…STOP!!" Harry finally managed to wrestle her wand from her grasp.

Another voice, from so far away, yelled, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

"HARRY!" Hermione shoved him down as a flash of green light soared over them. A devilish curse escaped the lips of the Death Eater.

"It was too far away; we could dodge it!" Hermione gasped. She grabbed her wand from Harry's hand.

"ARE YOU DEAF???!!! I SAID "GET TO THE PORTKEY"!!!!" Tonks's voice screeched from the east, as brilliant colors shot from several wands at once.

"Hermione, get going!" Harry yelled, grabbing her by her robes and tossing her back.

"You're coming, too! Both of you!"

"Both—"

"_Mobilicorpus_!"

Belicia soared through the air as Hermione kept her wand pointed at her. With her free hand, Hermione felt for Harry's arm. As she felt it, she hooked her fingers around it and dragged him backwards, towards the Portkey. The last they saw of the battle was Tonks shouting something and her wand letting out a gold stream.

* * *

"Remus, look out!" Tonks shrieked.

Remus ducked just in time to miss an attack. He waved his wand and yelled, "_Vuelas_!" The Death Eater howled as he was sent flying backwards and slammed against a tree.

Furiously, another Death Eater brandished his wand.

Tonks saw this and jumped out of the way just as the Death Eater yelled, "_Crucio_!"

The impending green light shot forward, heading for a new target.

Petunia.

Remus, Tonks, and Snape watched as it shot towards her, seemingly in slow motion. There was no time. They couldn't do anything except watch as her eyes widened in horrifying and shocking realization, as she tried to steel herself for the blast.

There was a crunch of grass beneath shoes as someone took off.

There were two screams, one of horror and one of agony.

Snape had taken the hit.

* * *

Remus flung his hand, wand pointed, towards the Death Eater. "_Stupefy_!"

The Death Eater suddenly froze. His eyes, though not visible, glazed over, and his mind went blank. What was he doing here?

"Severus!" Petunia screeched, catching him before he could sink to the ground. "Severus, are you okay? Speak to me! Oh God, not you, too, you can't leave me, too…"

"I'm not dead, Petunia," Snape muttered through gritted teeth, trying to pick himself up. He paused tensely for a moment, and then stood up, looking slightly nauseous.

"Look out!" Tonks yelled, and both of them dodged another attack.

"Get going!" Remus yelled. "Get back to the Portkey, both of you!"

Snape grabbed the collar of Petunia's robes and shoved her in the direction of the Portkey. Her arms flew wildly and she took hold of his own robes.

"Come with me!" she hissed, and began to pull him backwards.

"Keep going, keep going!" Remus shouted, jogging backwards, Tonks at his side.

Petunia half-dragged Snape back. He seemed to be unwilling to go, his eyes focused on the Death Eater who had attacked her. You could see a rage building up in his face, like he wanted to attack…and kill.

Petunia grabbed hold of the Portkey and they were jerked from view, closely followed by Remus and Tonks. Someone, probably Remus, muttered "_Colloportus_", and as the four of them were thrown onto the floor of Hogwarts, the Portkey sealed itself up and the thin line distinguishing it from the statue disappeared.

* * *

The four lay gasping on the floor for a few seconds.

"If that wasn't the worse time for a Death Eater attack…" Tonks muttered, the first to pick herself up. "This is just perfect. Severus, they know that you're on our side now, unless they are THAT thick."

"Spying was getting risky, anyway," Severus muttered, picking himself up and absent-mindedly hoisting Petunia with him.

Remus stood up just as someone rounded the corner. They were staring into the panicking face of Ginny Weasley.

"Professors, Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office, quick! Hermione brought back a Death Eater!"

"Genius, apparently, isn't constant," Snape muttered.

"It was her mother, Belicia, did you think she'd leave her there!?" Ginny yelled, smarting at the insult to her friend. "Anyway, you'd better get there quick, Belicia's putting up a fight!"

Tonks was the first to take off, followed by Remus, Snape, and Petunia. Ginny led the way towards Dumbledore's office.

She stopped at the gargoyle and breathed the words "Sugar Quill". The gargoyle moved, and the five of them charged upstairs.

It was a strange sight to behold. Dumbledore and Moody were holding down a struggling Belicia, while McGonagall shielded Hermione from the view of her mother. Harry and Ron had both her shoulders, trying to force her back.

Tonks whipped her wand around and said, "_Descansa_!"

A soft blue light shot from her wand and hit Belicia. All of a sudden the twisting woman sat still. Her expression relaxed, and she sagged in her seat.

Dumbledore stepped backward, but Moody kept Belicia pinned down by the shoulders.

"Miss Granger, please calm yourself or I'll have to place you in detention for a month," McGonagall said tiredly. "I assure you, you will have the time to confront Mrs. Granger later."

Hermione glared at Belicia, but calmed down.

"Professor Snape, do we have any Veritaserum?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Unfortunate. There's so much I want to get from her. Such as who the traitor is."

"The only traitor here is Snape!" Belicia exploded, pointing an accusing finger at aforementioned professor. "He's been betraying us all along, hasn't he, all for that Mudblood waste over there!" She turned her finger towards Petunia.

Snape yanked out his wand and pointed it at Belicia. "One more word, Granger."

"Severus, do keep your temper, please," Minerva said, begging.

"She can remain imprisoned with us for a month," Dumbledore said placidly. "That won't be a problem."

"I hope you die in prison," Hermione snarled, staring straight at Belicia. "The bowels of Hell are too good for you!"

"Hermione, please…" Harry begged.

"Alastor, if you would please escort Mrs. Granger here to the dungeons," Dumbledore said. "Severus, I'm afraid we'll have to find another room for your class. The Room of Requirement should suffice."

"This way, Granger," Moody growled. "_Incarcerus_." He led the bound Death Eater from the room.

"And now, Miss Hermione Granger," Dumbledore said, turning to her. "From what Harry has said, it appears you used the unforgivable Cruciatus Curse?"

"I don't deny it," Hermione said fiercely. "In fact, I used it three times."

"You're not gonna throw her in prison, are you?" Ron yelped suddenly.

"No, Mr. Weasley, I'm not. And she will not be expelled or suspended. In fact, I am amazed that she was able to perform it. I must ask, however, that she abstain from doing it again. If someone besides us sees her doing it, I won't be able to prevent her from being incarcerated. Can you do that, Miss Granger?"

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "If I see Aaron…I don't know if I can."

"I see. Well, then, at least abstain from it for the time being, and we can continue this discussion at a better time."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Very good, very good. And, Mr. Weasley, I'd prepare yourself for owls. The attack will be reported soon, and I feel your mother will be sending a great deal of mail."

Ron snorted. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, yes, and Miss Lovegood was sent up to the hospital wing, if you wish to see her. You may all leave now," Dumbledore said, waving his hand towards the door.

Petunia, Tonks, Snape, Remus, Ginny, Neville, and Ron were the first to leave, followed closely by Hermione, but Harry stopped in the doorway.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"The Cruciatus Curse…are there times when it's forgivable?"

"That, I suppose, relies on the user's point of view. I can understand Hermione Granger's perspective."

"There are times when you want to use it, aren't there? Take me, whenever I hear "Pettigrew" or "Bellatrix", I want to kill something."

There was silence, then— "I understand completely, Harry. When I think of 14-year-old Oleta McGonagall, top student in the school, and 81-year-old Oleta Dumbledore, locked in St. Mungo's…I understand perfectly. As I said to Tom Riddle in June, merely killing him would not satisfy me enough. And speaking of last June, Harry, we haven't talked about the prophecy in a while."

"It's all right, I don't need to," Harry said, holding up his hand. "The way I see it, Trelawney made a crackpot prediction and some Death Eater was fool enough to fall for it. Nothing is for sure and certain anymore, Professor. I can't rely on the fact that it was for real. However, I understand that whether it was predestined or not, I'm a part of this war and I'm going to play it out."

"You understand that I thought I was acting for the best by keeping this from you?"

"At first I was angry enough to kill you," Harry admitted. "But now…I don't know. I was wallowing in self-pity, I guess. Sirius would've given me a good smack upside the head if he knew. I'm not the only one who's lost people they care about. Hermione's parents, Ron's brothers…your wife."

"…Very well, then. I suggest you get off to bed now. Tomorrow, as you most likely realize, is Monday, with a 5-hour Defense Against The Dark Arts lesson, and a 4-hour Charms lesson soon after it."

"Good. That's perfect. Good night, Professor."

"Good night, Harry."

* * *

That closes chapter 9!

I like that last scene. Most people have Harry act like "Kill-that-evil-old-stupid-BLEEP-called-Dumbledore" but I wanted to make it so Harry understood that he's not the only person who's lost someone, thus I put Oleta and Hermione's parents into the story.

By the way, I used Spanish words to make up the new spells. "_Borro_" means "I erase". "_Escribo_" means "I write". "_Crezco flores_" means "I grow flowers". "_Vuelas_," means "You fly", which is why the recipient flies backwards and usually into something. "_Vomita_" means "He/She vomits". "_Descansa_" means "He/She relaxes". And from chapter 6, "_Vomita sangre_" means "He/She vomits blood", since is causes TB.

Oh, and if you're wondering why Harry senses the Death Eaters now and not in chapter 1, it's because in chapter 1, Voldemort was purposely using the element of surprise, but for this chapter, he didn't really care. Besides, in this chapter, Harry was extremely angry because he was thinking of Pettigrew, so emotions and senses were high. Understand? Also, the wards around Harry's houses were dropped in chapter 1 because at the time, he was feeling less and less like this place was home and now the Voldemort's strong again, he can methodically break down the wards. Get it?


	11. The New DA

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter. All unrecognizable/new features are mine

A/N-All years and houses share the same Charms and Defense Against Dark Arts class, just in case you haven't read the changes to chapter 7.

Messages:

Seixe- Thank you! - I try. For "Moscas"…guess my translator didn't know if I wanted the verb or the noun. I just got the word "Mosca" and decided to conjugate it. I _did_ find "Sangre" afterwards though, and changed it, but I don't know if the changes showed up yet…ah, well.

* * *

The New D.A

* * *

"Hello, class, and welcome to Defense Against The Dark Arts."

Tonks absentmindedly twirled her wand between her fingers as she spoke. A class larger than any other Defense class prior to it was watching her every move.

"In case you missed my grand entrance at the feast, I'm Professor Tonks. I am also an Auror for the Ministry of Magic."

Draco snorted.

"I heard that, Draco," Tonks said, not even glancing at him. "I know that my amazing youthful powers make me seem a schoolgirl, but as you know, being my cousin, I'm 24 and proud of it."

Harry gave a little gasp. He had completely forgotten that Tonks's mother was Draco's aunt.

Draco leaned over and whispered something to Goyle.

"I heard that as well, dearest cousin Draco. As for the rumor that I am currently dating Remus Lupin, I say: bite me, it's none of your business. 5 points from Slytherin for discussing my personal life without the brains to do it behind my back. Keep it up and I'll be forced to tell them stories about your amazing stuffed pink bunny, Mr. Snufflelopolus."

Draco's face wet bright pink. Ron was laughing so loudly he nearly fell off his seat.

"Now, on to Defense Against The Dark Arts." Tonks went around her desk, planted her palms on it, and hoisted herself up so that she sat on it. She leaned forward slightly, hands folded in her lap. "I don't want to scare any of you, but if you haven't heard the news yet, there was a Death Eater attack yesterday."

There was a collective gasp, and murmuring broke out between groups of friends.

"A Death Eater was captured, and no one was killed. However, one of our side was hit by the Cruciatus Curse, which I'm sure you all remember from 2 years ago, when it was performed by our own impostor Professor Moody. I don't know if he used it on you, but understand that it is so incredibly painful that the victims practically beg for death."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione stiffen slightly. He reached out and grabbed her hand.

"She deserved it," Hermione whispered.

"I understand," he whispered back. His eyes shot to Neville. The Longbottom boy was staring straight ahead, his hands folded so tightly that his fingertips were red from lack of circulation to the rest of his hand.

"Also, a Death Eater tried to kill two of our own with Avada Kedavra," Tonks continued. "Luckily, he was too far away, and they were able to dodge it. Avada Kedavra is a curse that needs a lot of power and absolutely no room with which the victim can dodge it for it to work. This is a case where keeping your friends close and your enemies closer is not a good idea."

There were nervous giggles throughout the room.

"Those two, along with the Imperious Curse, which can force someone to do whatever they're told, are the Unforgivables. But Death Eaters don't care to be forgiven, do they? They have no problems with using them. However, since your parents do, I'm not here to show you how to use them. I am here to show you how to block them."

There was a bubble of whisperings, and Tonks raised her hand for silence.

"There is no known protection against a true, powerful Avada Kedavra, unless someone takes the hit for you, as in the case of Lily Potter, Harry's mother." The class's eyes swept to Harry, and then went back to Tonks. "I understand you have some practice with fighting the Imperious Curse, but that was cut short, and that you have no practice dealing with the Cruciatus Curse. Is that right?"

There was a soft assent.

"All right. Now, we will be practicing defenses against the Imperious Curse in the second half of all my classes until our entire class can properly protect themselves. Afterwards we will advance to the Cruciatus Curse. The first half will be spent using other defensive spells. Later on this year you'll learn offensive spells. The statement to know this year: Defense is the best offense, and offense is the best defense. Know this, love this, make this your friend."

There were giggles from some of the girls.

"All righty then. I imagine you are out of practice, due to my predecessor, Dolores Umbridge. I've had the misfortune of having to work with her within 50 yards of myself, so I understand your pain." A girl snorted. "I don't expect your wands to be in tip-top condition now, but I do expect them to be so at the end of this year."

She clapped her hands and jumped off her desk.

"Right. First on our agenda are Patronuses. Most people think that these are useful only against Dementors. True, they work best against Dementors, but they are also extremely useful against wizards. They weaken an opponent's wand power, even if just slightly. Who besides Harry can conjure a Patronus? A real Patronus?"

Hermione raised her hand, thinking of her otter, and someone else did too. Harry turned to see Cho's hand in the air.

But Cho had changed. Her hair seemed even more bedraggled, her frame drooped, and her eyes held no spark of life.

Tonks eyed her, clearly skeptical that she could produce an able Patronus, but decided not to press it. "Who's got at least some sort of hang on it, even if it's just a little silver puff?"

Neville, Lavender, and Seamus raised their hands.

"Who knows the incantation?"

All the other D.A members raised their hands.

"All right. All of those who have no clue what to do, go over to that corner and I'll be with you shortly. Everyone who knows the incantation, try to produce one. Everyone who can get a little out of it, work on getting more. And you two." She pointed to Harry and Hermione. "Come up here."

The class divvied up obediently. Harry and Hermione went to Tonks.

"I need you three to do a bit of reading. Professor Snape isn't teaching right now, so the Room of Requirement is open. It's filled with books from the Ministry of Magic Library, and I need you to look up information on the Unforgivables. A huge point of this class is to find ways to counter or block them. You know how to get in, so get going. I'll see you guys in a couple hours for the D.A. meeting."

"Yes, ma'am," Cho said nicely, and they proceeded from the classroom.

* * *

"So, you two are…together now?" Cho asked delicately.

Hermione looked up from her copy of Combating the Dark Arts. Harry stopped in the middle of pulling a book from the shelf.

"Yeah…yeah, we are," he said evenly.

"Oh, um, I see."

"May I inquire why you ask?"

"It was just gossip I heard from Luna Lovegood. You know she fancies your friend Ron, right?"

"Yes, we know, and don't change the subject," Hermione said, shutting the book, her finger marking the page.

"I was just asking," Cho said defensively.

Harry sighed. "Cho, you know that all chances of us being together are over now, right?"

"Of course I know!" she yelled. "It's so obvious, the way you hang all over her!"

Harry turned on her, eyes flashing. "Don't talk that way about Hermione."

"Of course, darling Hermione, it's always been about her, even on our first date all you could talk about was her!"

"So? You were talking about Cedric the whole time!"

Cho inclined her head drastically, eyes snapping fire. "That is different. Very, very different, Harry."

"Yes, but even so, I don't think reliving past loves is a good thing to do on a first date!"

Cho's mouth formed a very thin line. All of a sudden, Harry felt like slapping both her and himself.

"The reason I can make a Patronus," Cho said, seemingly controlling her tone, "is because my happy memory is the very first time he kissed me. That's not something you can easily drop, now, is it? It is very difficult losing the love of your life, and moving on is even harder."

She opened the book in her lap and turned her face to look at it. She began speaking into the book.

"Before I die, I would like to find the Death Eater who killed him, and destroy him."

"Wouldn't we all like to. The one who killed him is the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort."

"Sirius Black?"

"No."

"But—"

"Sirius was framed, he was completely innocent, and he died trying to save my life. Peter Pettigrew was the traitor, he was the one who killed Cedric, and he…is the one I want to kill first."

"Hmm." Cho looked up. "Mind if I join you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Revenge is sweet when it is shared with someone else. Much like chocolate. I want a piece of him before I go out. Mind sharing the satisfaction?"

Harry stared at her for a moment. Then, he grinned and shrugged.

"Why not?"

"If you're both quite finished, we have some reading to do," Hermione said, opening her book again.

Harry found the book he had been taking out. Cho buried her face in her book again, and there was peaceful silence in the room, except for the occasional groan of "This book is useless!"

* * *

"Find anything?" Ron asked.

"Nope, nothing," Harry said. He, Hermione, and Cho were back in the Defense classroom, while other students were packing up their stuff and making to leave. "Wasted four hours."

"All D.A. members, please stay in here!" Tonks yelled over the din.

"Well, we didn't," Ron said. "We spent two hours on the Patronuses, and another two working on the Imperius Curse. We've got some pretty stubborn girls in this class. This girl Corrine's at the same level as Harry was when he started. And our Patronuses are great, too. I've finally conjured one. It's a dead rat." He grinned.

"How'd Luna do?" Cho asked slyly.

Ron didn't catch the tone. His face dropped. "She's the exception. She's having a horrible time of it. Look, she's still trying."

"_Expecto Patronum_!" Luna yelled. Nothing came out of her wand. She tried again. This time, a tiny silver puff came out and instantly evaporated.

"All right, people, is everybody here for the D.A.?" Tonks asked finally.

"Yeah," came from a few people. Everyone started to quiet down

"Good. Lemme see here." Tonks whipped out a piece of paper. "Just see who's here. All righty, Gryffindors."

The Gryffindors were, of course, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Colin and Dennis Creevy, Katie Bell, Dean Thomas, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, and Seamus Finnigin, as Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Fred and George Weasley, and Lee Jordan had graduated/dropped out the previous year. There were 6 new Gryffindors, and they were all girls.

6th-year Bernice Amherst, or Bennie as she preferred to be called, was first. Bennie had very curly, glossy, light brown hair down to her shoulders. Her eyes always seemed a little distant, but they were still a pretty shade of hazel-brown. She was a bit smaller than Hermione, and her skin was the color of angel food cake's crust.

6th-year Marcie Applegate was next. Marcie's hair was chestnut brown and it reached three-quarters down her neck, framing her face. Her eyes were the same shade, and there were volumes of emotions swimming in them. She was taller than Bennie, and her skin was pale, except for long patches of very light tan on her arms.

Next was 6th-year Mary Barnegat. Mary's thick, long hair was rich chocolate brown, and it grew to her tail bone. Her eyes were, like Marcie's, the same shade as her hair, and they were pleasant. She was shorter than Marcie but taller than Bennie, and her skin was white.

7th-year Ann Berkeley was 4th. Ann had Titian red hair that reached to her shoulder blades. Her eyes were fairly clouded blue and always smiling. She was Bennie's height, and her skin was pale, except for the red freckles that dotted her nose and the apples of her cheeks. She could have been Ginny's twin.

5th was 6th-year Corrine Colgate. Her hair was black and cut in a boy's style to the nape of her neck. Her eyes were striking green with cloudy centers that never changed with her emotions. She was Ann's height, gangly, the skinniest one there, and had very pale skin.

Last was 6th-year Lynn Windward. Her hair was almost black and cut in Marcie's style, though not quite as thick. Her eyes were dark brown, aided in their lack of luminosity by her purple-framed glasses. She was about Colin Creevy's height, skinny, and her skin was lightly browned. Darker brown freckles dotted her nose.

"All right, Hufflepuffs," Tonks said, switching to another list. The returning Hufflepuffs were Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchely, and Ernie Macmillan. Harry was relieved to see that Zacharias Smith hadn't returned. There were 4 incoming Hufflepuffs.

6th-year Emmanuela Chestnut was first. Her hair was peppery brown with zigzagged blonde highlights at the tips. Her eyes were peppery brown as well, hidden beneath rounded-rectangular black-framed glasses. She was the shortest of the lot, even smaller than the tiny Creevy brothers and Lynn, and her skin was toasted in color.

7th-year Thomas Dover was the 3rd. His hair was old-tree brown and cropped into tiny curls. His eyes were clouded ice-blue and hidden beneath glasses similar to Emmanuela's. He was taller and ganglier than anyone else there, including Ron, and his skin was chalky white.

With him was his girlfriend, 7th-year Amy Lloyd. Her hair was the same as Bennie's, and reached to her shoulders. Her eyes were light brown, and always seemed to be looking at something else. She was slightly taller than Marie, with a thin frame, and her skin was slightly toasted in color. Harry recognized her as one of the Hufflepuff Team Beaters.

Last was 7th year Margaret Seaman. Margaret's hair was black and reached halfway down her back, but today was pulled back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were dark brown and distracted, like Amy's. She was taller than Amy but shorter than Thomas, and had white-ish skin.

"And Ravenclaws…" Tonks trailed. Returning Ravenclaws were Terry Boot, Cho Chang, Anthony Goldstein, Luna Lovegood, and Padma Patil. Harry guess Michael hadn't returned because he had now lost both Ginny and Cho, and Harry doubted if he'd ever see Marietta again. There only 3 new Ravenclaws.

The first new Ravenclaw was 6th-year Gibson Aldo. His hair was black and cut in a quarter-'fro. His eyes were dark brown, but seemed black due to his black-framed, rounded-rectangular glasses. He was Ann's height, skinny with muscular arms, and a pale complexion.

Next was 7th-year Olivia Applegate, Marcie's cousin. Her hair was straight and lay perfectly to the small of her back; it was brown with perfectly spaced, wide, blonde highlights. Her eyes were the same color as her natural hair. She was about Bennie's height, and her skin was chalk-dust brown in color.

6th-year Anita Beylea was 3rd. Her straight hair was glossy, shiny, dark brown, and it hung to her shoulder blades. Her friendly eyes were dark brown and always smiling distantly. She was Marcie's height, and her skin was olive-brown in color, as if it was tanned perfectly.

"And, the drum roll please, the Slytherins!" Tonks exclaimed. There were 4 Slytherin girls and 1 boy.

7th-year Linda Applegate, Marcie and Olivia's cousin, was first. Linda had straight, black hair reaching to the small of her back that curled at the tips, which was pulled into a low ponytail. Her eyes were dark chocolate brown. She was taller than Bennie, had a fairly twiggy frame, and had very pale, almost yellowing skin.

Next was 6th-year Elizabeth Attison. Her hair was a shiny blonde and hung to her shoulder blades. She had bewitched her eyes to a hazel-green today and they were pleasant, though slightly mischievous. She was just slightly shorter than Marcie. Most of her skin was tan, but her face was very pink.

3rd was 4th-year Anais Faircrest. Anais's straight hair was shiny, glossy brown and reached her shoulder blades, and was pulled up in a high ponytail. Her eyes were a soft shade of blue. She was approximately Marcie's height with a small frame. She was perfectly tanned.

4th was 6th-year Tony Michelle. His hair was brown and shot up in 50-odd tiny spikes, covered with orange highlights in the back. His eyes were also a rich chocolate brown and very mischievous. He was Amy's height, and his skin was medium-tanned in color.

5th and final was 6th-year Joan Sunset. Her hair was the glossy, shiny brown of Bennie's shade. Her eyes were sapphire-blue and secretive. She was also Marie's height. She was skinny, and her skin bounced back and forth from pale to normal Caucasian.

"All right, that's 18 Gryffindors, 8 Hufflepuffs, 8 Ravenclaws, and 5 Slytherins," Tonks said. "Coming to the grand total of 39 D.A. members."

"11 more than last year," Hermione said proudly.

"Good, we need them," Tonks said. "Now, here's what the whole point of the D.A. is. You are here because you want further training against Voldemort, so that if you meet him, you can use offensive spells. You'd've learned this before the end of this year anyway, but you'll learn before everyone else, and you'll all have time in class to practice or sleep or whatever it is you do when you're not busy while someone else is."

Lynn giggled.

"All right, you guys've been practicing Patronuses for the past couple hours. I just wanna see you do one to see where we are, and then we'll get going."

One by one, each member stepped up and produced a Patronus. There were several unexpected ones, ranging from a dead rat (Ron's) to a penguin (Marcie's) to a heartogram (Corrine's). Only Luna seemed to be having a problem with it.

"All right, I'll be helping you with that later, Luna," Tonks said. "And before we get down to business, there are some things we should discuss. Like the use of Unforgivables."

"I thought we're weren't gonna be using them," Lynn said, as her Patronus, a unicorn, galloped around the room. As she turned to look at Tonks, it disappeared

"The Ministry is debating whether or not to make them legal. We need to decide whether or not you're going to be trained to use them, if they are legalized. I know that two of you—no names—have used the Cruciatus Curse before, and one of you made it extremely powerful. The question is, will the other 37 be learning them?"

"Well, personally, I think it's a good idea," Ernie said. "If we're going to be face-to-face with Death Eaters, we should learn how to ultimately deal with them."

"Yeah, but those curses are still Unforgivable," Gibson said.

"It doesn't matter. They get what they have coming," Elizabeth said fiercely. "And I'll train my sisters, Lydia and Michelle, to kill off those—"

"No language, please," Tonks said, raising her hand, just as Ann said, "I'm with Elizabeth."

"Maybe we should use them as a last resort?" Marcie offered.

"The Death Eaters won't use them as a last resort," Joan said bitterly.

"I don't like the idea of killing," Lavender put in. "I mean, I don't want to be like the Death Eaters."

"Yeah," Lynn agreed.

"I'm with Marie on the last resort thing," Bennie said.

"Hey, founders, what do you think?" Margaret asked, looking over at Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

Hermione was staring at her hands. After a few seconds' pause, she spoke in a low but clear voice.

"I know what it's like to use the Cruciatus Curse. I was one of the ones to use it on a Death Eater. When I was doing it to her, I felt on top of the world and in the depths of despair at the same time. I hated her, and I had vengeance to wreak on her, but while I was doing it I felt—I guess you could say, not myself. It was good and bad at the same time."

"Thanks, that helps," Elizabeth muttered.

"Be nice, Elizabeth," Marcie said. Elizabeth frowned at her.

"Well, I don't think we should use them," Corrine said. "It's just like—who's she?" She pointed to Lavender, who said her name. "It's just like Lavender said. We'd be just like the Death Eaters."

"I don't care if I use an Unforgivable against them," Mary said. "They deserve it. I'm with Elizabeth."

"All right, this isn't getting us anywhere," Tonks said. "Let's just do it this way. Raise your hands if you think we should use the Unforgivables."

Linda, Elizabeth, Mary, Ann, Cho, Emmanuela, Justin, Neville, Ernie, Tony, Joan, Ron, and Ginny all raised their hand.

"All right, you guys group off. How about those who think we shouldn't use them?"

Hannah, Gibson, Anita, Lavender, Corrine, Parvati, and Lynn all raised their hands, and grouped off.

"Who says last resort? And if you don't know, keep your hands down."

Bennie, Marcie, Olivia, Colin, Dennis, Anais, Seamus, Amy, and Luna raised their hands and grouped off as well. That left Katie, Susan, Thomas, Anthony, Hermione, Padma, Harry, and Dean under "Don't know"

"All righty, that's 13 for "Yes"," Tonks said. "I just wanted to know where we stood for right now. We won't tackle the Unforgivables for awhile, in case any of you change your mind. Now, onto business. I want you to divide up into pairs and practice stunning jinxes. That's "_Stupefy_" for those who don't know. It temporarily confuses or stuns the enemy so you can get past it. Work on that for a half hour, and we'll review for the next 15 minutes. Get it? Got it? Good."

* * *

A fairly sore D.A. crawled from the Defense room about 45 minutes later. It was time for lunch.

"So, you two are together now, right?" Marcie asked, looking straight at Harry and Hermione. The Gryffindors had settled at their table, all grouping together.

"Um…yeah," Harry said slowly.

Marie grinned. "Good. I've been splitting the dorm with Hermione for 5 straight years, and I've been waiting for her to come barging in with the news that you two are dating."

Both Harry and Hermione looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Marcie Applegate. 6th-year. My cat ate the phone cord."

"WHAT?!" Ron snorted.

"Marcie sometimes feels the need to spout off nonsense," Lynn explained.

"The cows are in the fish," Marcie said, just to prove a point, and then grinned again. "Believe it or not, I'm just as sane as you are. Well, for family history, which I just love telling, my mom, Marie, was a Ravenclaw. My sister Kelly was a Gryffindor, and my other sister, Denise, was a Slytherin. My dad was a Hufflepuff. Aren't we well-balanced. Harry, that's your aunt who just came back, right?"

"Yeah."

"My dad dated her in 3rd year. Clifford Applegate and Petunia Evans, they were for awhile, until they broke up. He started dating my mom and she dated someone else."

Harry pursed his lips. So his aunt had been popular once. Somehow, that was a hard image to conjure up.

"My mom went here, but I forget what house," Corrine said. "I think my dad's a Muggle, but I don't know. My parents divorced when I was little."

"My mum was a Hufflepuff witch," Lynn said. "My dad's a Muggle."

"Me too 'cept she's a Slytherin," Ann said. "My dad's the only Muggle in the family."

"It's the opposite for me," Bennie put in. "Muggle mom, wizard Dad. Gryffindor."

"And Mary's parents are both magical," Marcie rounded off. "Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, right?"

Mary nodded.

"Spiffing. Well, anyway, I know everybody who's new in the D.A.; we've all been friends for years. Elizabeth is my oldest friend; I've known her since primer school. Too bad we landed in different houses. Y'know, I wasn't worried when she landed in Slytherin. Remember, Corrine, when we helped Elizabeth pull that prank on Malfoy?"

"Now, that was a little mean," Lynn said, whilst Corrine was nodding and smiling at the memory of locking Draco in the girl's bathroom while Myrtle was having mood swings.

"Oh, come off it, Lynn, just because you fancy him—"

Ron, who had been drinking, sprayed his pumpkin juice all across the table, earning himself disgusted squeals and glares from Lavender and Parvati.

"She WHAT?!"

"—doesn't mean it wasn't funny," Marcie finished meekly.

"You-you-you…you FANCY MALFOY?!"

"Say it louder, I don't think the dead people in China heard you quite well enough," Lynn said, blushing furiously as Draco looked up from his table to see who had been yelling his name, and why.

Ron stared at her as if he was going to hurl. "I don't believe it! Are you mad?"

"Oh, chill," Lynn said, attempting coolness but failing.

"See? I'm not the only one who thinks he's a complete waste of time," Corinne said, sending a glare over to the Slytherin table. Anais and Tony saw it and looked confused, Elizabeth saw it and glared back, Joan saw it and ignored it, and Linda didn't see it at all.

"He's cute!" Lynn whispered fiercely.

"He's a prejudiced slimeball and a pretty boy," Corrine said firmly.

"Therefore, unworthy of our notice," Marcie said, smiling again. "But don't worry, Lynn, you're not alone. Elizabeth fancies him, too."

"Really? After locking him in Myrtle's bathroom?"

Marcie shrugged. "Feelings change."

Bennie turned to Harry. "Harry, Quidditch try-outs are today, right?"

"Yeah," Harry answered, unconsciously grinning. With Umbridge's resignation, his Quidditch ban had gone. "You're trying out?"

"Yeah, for Chaser. Who's the captain, you?"

"Nope, Katie is," Harry said, gesturing in the general vicinity of Katie Bell. "Probably wanted to give it to me, but it's only fair that Katie gets a shot. It's her last year."

"So, right after Charms?"

"Yep."

* * *

"Luna, you all right?" Cho asked, looking down at her 5th-year peer.

"I'm perfectly okay, thank you, Cho," Luna said, off-hand. She reached into her bag and pulled out a copy of The Quibbler.

"You're just so quiet," Cho pressed.

"And you're just so nosy," Padma snorted. The Ravenclaws had all grouped together as well.

"Padma, be nice," Anthony said teasingly, giving his girlfriend's hand a squeeze.

From farther down the table, Michael Corner looked at Anthony and Padma, and then turned his eyes to Cho. She had dumped him unexpectedly over the summer. It wounded his pride above all else to be dumped by both Ginny and Cho within three months, and he wanted to know why she had chosen to ditch him.

Cho watched Michael's face as well, and sighed inwardly. She busied herself with her fork and knife, so to keep her eyes away from his.

She really had rushed into something after her disastrous date with Harry. She had just wanted someone to make her feel better, when her life seemed to be going completely downhill. Since losing Cedric, she just hadn't had the will to force herself into cheeriness.

Cedric. Just the thought of him made her depressed. She really had loved him, and still did, with her entire being. Harry and Michael had both been substitute lovers.

She looked at Padma, who was kissing Anthony, and then to the Hufflepuff table at Thomas, who was smiling at Amy. She glanced around the room and her eyes landed on Harry and Hermione. Since their conversation earlier she hadn't felt the least bit jealous, but now the feeling was coming back. She wasn't jealous of anyone having Harry. She was just jealous that it seemed like everyone had someone alive and whole to be in love with.

Luna's eyes scanned the scene from above The Quibbler. She was watching Cho just as thoroughly as Michael, and read her eyes like a book. Grimly, she contemplated that Cedric's death was the least of Cho's problems.

She glanced down at her arm. The scar at her elbow was now a thin red line, a remnant of the open, gaping wound that had taken an hour for Madame Pomfrey to fix. A reminder of the Death Eater's power.

Yes, she thought, and almost grimaced, past deaths were the least of everyone's worries now.

* * *

Decided to end it here. Part of it was filler but these OC's will play major roles in the future. Normally OC's annoy me because they're perfect/paired with Harry, but none of them will be that. Please don't turn away, thinking "Mary Sue alert!"

PS Bennie made the team.


	12. Tales From This Side

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter or the song

A/N: In case anybody wonders or cares, I wrote that Wormtail killed Cedric. He did in the book, but Ms. Rowling wrote that ghost Cedric appeared from Voldemort's wand. Maybe Peter was using Voldemort's wand? I think so, because Peter had been a rat for 12 years, so he wouldn't exactly have his wand, would he? Here his been supplied with a new one.

Shout-outs:

Seixe: Thank you!

Blinks: Yep, there's a whole thing about it in my story "The Complex Puzzle Called Love".

Pixie89: For your OC, I'd personally like her with George, because I'm a rabid Harry/Hermione, Fred/Angelina, and Seamus/Lavendar fan, but hey, it's your fic. I confused you? So sorry! Don't worry, by next chapter the O.C. D.A. members will have their own separate identities. I like to fuse everything together because the only problem I find with JKR is that her books are all one-sided to Harry's POV. And about Tonks, I completely forgot that she's a clutz. I'll work on that.

* * *

Tales From This Side

* * *

Voldemort sat in his emerald-clad chamber, in a hidden valley known as Salazar's Pit. No fool would dare venture into here. Rumors of wizards who entered and never returned because of horrible monsters had been widespread for years, even before the birth of Thomas Marvolo Riddle.

To mutterings along these lines, courtesy of his Death Eaters, Voldemort had replied, "They never return, do they? Then where do you suppose we get the stories from?" Dumbfounded, the Death Eaters had begged his forgiveness for their own stupidity. He had dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

This was a settlement they had built up with their own wands, and a palace surpassing the Black and Malfoy mansions combined had been built for him. He resided alone here, not bothering with anyone. The boldest of his Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange, wouldn't come here.

That was because of the pink bunnies.

Voldemort smiled to himself. Pink bunnies, where had that come from? Those were things Muggle children, dressed in a fashion they called "Goth", said they were afraid of. He must be growing senile, especially when he knew what Muggle children dressed in black clothes were calling themselves.

Speaking of inferior children.

The Harry Potter boy was beginning to gnaw on his nerves. Voldemort prided himself on his steely patience when executing plans, but he knew that his one major fault was that he hated being foiled. Especially by cocky children who were ever protected by that old fool, Albus Dumbledore.

Voldemort smiled again. How wonderful it had been to torture Oleta into insanity. The old bat had never liked him, not since she had started teaching him in 1945, his first year at Hogwarts. She was always glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. He had hoped that the Basilisk would have gotten her first, but still, getting that annoying Myrtle had been a terrific first murder.

"Murder". It seemed such an ugly word. "Life-taking" and "killing" weren't pleasant for the ear, either. So most Death Eaters opted for "the purification of the wizard race". "Purification" was a nice word.

He didn't care much. A rose by any other name, right? He simply enjoyed the intoxicating power that came with holding a person's life above their heads.

He knew that most people would think him sick and insane, and recommend shock treatments for this thought, but he didn't care much. Murder was a common part of history. Ever since the first cavemen had knocked his rival over the head with a club, mankind had just eaten up murder stories. Everyone claimed it was evil, yet it happened every day.

So, Voldemort had reasoned, the act of killing was a normal, human act, a reflex much like walking.

However, he reasoned he could pick and chose who he killed. Start of with the annoying inferiors, then hit revenge, and then just go on killing until you've had your fill of it. Break it down, organize, be a Virgo. He really didn't have anything against Mudbloods being Mudbloods, but if you wanted people to define you exactly, you might as well just chose one group to terrorize. Racism was another big part of history.

Of course, things hadn't always gone as planned. Inferior beings, idiots with high-sounding ideas, always caused problems and injured your pride. Take Mr. Harry James Potter, and those others he had never bothered learning the names of.

Voldemort's pride was a touchy thing, and when it was injured, he was understandably angry. And he wanted revenge.

Lives were unimportant things, Voldemort reasoned. What did one or two…or even 3, 000 matter? People were like cockroaches. Kill one and another crawls out of the woodwork.

And killing was such a pleasure, too.

He watched as a mouse scampered across the room. Without a second thought, he whipped his wand around and the mouse exploded.

Reminding himself to call Wormtail to clean up the mess later, he settled down in an armchair and dozed. Only typical murderers stayed up all night.

* * *

Peter sat, drinking butterbeer, at the table in the little wood house he had clumsily built up to the jeering of Bellatrix and the newly prison-broke Lucius. Well, so what if his construction skills needed work. That wasn't the point of being a Death Eater.

And just what was the point of being a Death Eater, anyway?

He swirled his mug of butterbeer, watching as the butterscotch-colored, thick liquid made lines in upon itself, as he had nothing better to do.

Why had he joined up in the first place? Sure, he was a pure-blood, called "Limmers" by those who were pure-blood but not arrogant about it, like James and Sirius. They had been steadfast Order members.

James and Sirius. At the thought of those names, he cringed. James Adrian Potter, Sirius Hamal Black, and Remus John Lupin. He had betrayed all three of them in his 42-year lifetime. The three people he had counted as his closest friends so many years ago. Two of them dead, one, he guessed, immensely depressed.

For what, he wondered. Why had he thrown away his life for Voldemort? For power? What a joke, Voldemort was the only powerful one here. For respect? Please, every single Death Eater thought him a mosquito on a gaping wound. For this "Purification" nonsense? Peter had never really cared about pure-blood or half-blood. He wouldn't have hung out with Remus if he had.

Out of fear? For all these years, that was the only reason worth staying for. Peter had always wandered why he had been put in Gryffindor. Perhaps he should've been in Slytherin. Even weak-willed Hufflepuffs were credited with more courage than Slytherins.

And he was so afraid of leaving. He knew Voldemort put almost no value on any life besides his own, not even those of his followers. Those not loyal to him would be killed, with as much interest as he had with squashing a bug.

And returning to his old friends? They would kill him, most definitely. Remus would probably kill him before he was within 200 yards of Hogwarts. Perhaps Harry would back him up.

Harry. He had tried not to think about it, but it was horrifying how much he looked like James. In fact, when he had first seen Harry years ago, he had almost expected James to say, "Get a move on, Wormtail, McGonagall will kill us if we're late again!"

Of course, Harry's eyes were Lily's, everyone knew that. Peter remembered how happy those eyes had been when Lily had married James in 1986, when all of them were 24. And again 2 years later, when Harry was born. He could barely imagine what those eyes had looked like just seconds before her death. Terrified and probably tear-filled, after all, James had just died and Harry was probably going to be killed…

He chugged his butterbeer and slammed the empty glass on the table, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Too bad butterbeer wasn't strong. Maybe some firewhiskey would do.

* * *

It was so cold.

She sat, curled in a fetal position, in the dark, waiting for the footsteps signaling his approach. Her body was searing with white-hot pain, pounding in her veins just as her blood did. She dug her fingers into her scalp and held her head down. Small pains got rid of big pains, she minded, as her fingernails dug into her skin.

There. There they were. Those footsteps, signaling more pain, more torture, more agony lying in wait for her.

"Hello, dearest."

She shivered, an icy blast giving her fresh goosebumps up and down her arms and legs.

"You know that I hate to do this, but it must be done. The old spell is wearing off, believe it or not. _Dolor Secreto_!"

She clamped her lips shut and screwed up her eyes, but no matter what she did, she still felt the torment run rampant through her. It felt like hot needles attacking her from the inside, where she couldn't defend herself. It combined with the depressing powers of the Dementors, sucking all the life force from her. It was enough to make anyone beg for death.

A small squeak escaped from between her pressed lips.

Instantly, the onset of pain stopped, leaving her with the lingering torture.

"I hope you've learned to keep your mouth shut? The more silent you are, the longer it takes for the spell to wear off. Do you understand?"

She nodded fervently, her head bobbing so that it almost hit her collar bone.

"Good. Very good, my dear. Take your leave of me."

She got up slowly, some pain still lingering in her calves. She was shaking crazily, her eyes wide open and shot through.

"Oh, that won't do. _Descansa_."

A pale blue light struck her in the arm, but the spell had no effect on her. She continued to shiver uncontrollably.

"Hmm. Well, I'm out of practice with those "good" charms, aren't I? No matter, you can calm yourself. Just leave."

Slowly at first, and then as fast as she could go, she ran, ran until she could see hide nor hair of him, towards the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

"Petunia?"

She jumped at being called by name, and turned around to see…

"Oh, Severus, you startled me."

"What in God's name are you doing up here?"

Petunia glanced out the window. She was at the top of the Astronomy tower, which was more like a balcony than anything, except on top of the school.

"Looking at the stars," she said. "There's an old legend that when a person dies, an extra star is added to the sky. And it's true," she said bitterly. "I see two more stars that I've never seen before."

"I'm…sorry," he said.

"I just haven't been sleeping for the past three nights. Every time I close my eyes I see things."

"Such as?"

"My son, my husband, Lily, Harry, you…us," she added slowly. "I remember us most of all. Maybe it's being back here, maybe it's seeing you again, I don't know, but all I can think about is how we used to be. A year and a half we were together, Severus. That's long for a school romance. I was dating Vernon for six months before he proposed to me, and we got married three months later. I got married at 25 and I had Dudley at 26. I spent 17 years in Little Whinging. That's a lot to have upended less than two months."

"Understandably so." He walked towards her, stopping at the balcony ledge.

"17 years gone, and I have nothing to show for it. My family and half my friends are dead, the others are incapacitated, and my only relative hates me. I am pathetic."

"You're not pathetic, Petunia."

"Severus, stop trying to make me feel all right! I'm never going to be okay again! I am going to have to live with my bad judgment for the rest of my life. I'm going to have to look at myself in the mirror and see what a failure I've been to everyone, including myself. God!" Her last word was a sob.

There was a silence, and then, in a steely tone, he spoke.

"Do you think, Petunia, that you are the only one who has to live with bad judgment? If I hadn't been stupid enough to wander around the halls with you, Malfoy and Narcissa would never have laid their hands on you. You wouldn't have left and I wouldn't have had to join Voldemort, even in espionage."

"Then we're both idiots," Petunia said, with a sardonic voice. "You, at least, didn't leave your entire world and family behind because of stubborn idiocy and self-pity."

"And you, at least, didn't have to work for the most evil wizard since Grindelwald."

They looked at each other for a long time. They were both shadowed in silhouette, the moon bringing light to only their faces.

"Sometimes it's like it was only yesterday, that we stood up here, just talking and kissing and studying for our Astronomy tests," Petunia said softly. "Sometimes…"

Her words lingered in the air for a moment as they continued to gaze at each other. Their minds were transported back 24 years, to the halcyon days of being the laughing 18-year-olds they had been, full of school, friends, and dreams, not knowing where their lives were going and content with that uncertainty, because they were secure in and of themselves and those they loved.

"You never said what you were doing up here," Petunia said.

"I was looking for you. Concern was raised when you weren't anywhere to be found."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'd better be heading back downstairs, shouldn't I? I need my beauty sleep, even if I have no beauty left." She laughed. He did not.

She stopped laughing, but instead of walking towards the stairs, she continued to look at him. All of a sudden, her face fell. The eyes that had held up a brave façade sagged into the depression that was flowing with her very blood. The lines in her face showed visibly in the moon light, her mouth drooped, and her hands weighed heavy at her sides.

"Severus, please…"

"What?"

"Just…just hold me for a little while, okay? Just for two minutes. Please."

He was shocked. Petunia, the woman he hadn't seen for a score and 4 years, who had left his life on the worst possible note, who had only recently been widowed, was asking for him to comfort her for all the years lost. It was crazy, it was absurd…

He lifted his hands slightly, just enough to show her that he had given his consent.

"Thank you."

She walked slowly towards him and into his arms, wrapped her own arms around his back, leaned her head against his collar bone, and stood there for an eternal two minutes and more, as the last crickets of the season began to chirp and the clouds floated away, leaving only the large moon and bright stars to shine against the backdrop of the sky.

* * *

"Oh my God, Lynn, would you please stop it!" Marcie yelled, throwing a pillow at the ever-pacing Lynn Windward.

Lynn dodged the pillow, picked it up off the floor, and flung it back at Marcie.

"PLEASE don't tell me you're still upset about what Ron said at lunch." Marcie sat up from her lying position on the couch and hugged the pillow to her chest.

"Yeah, and over DRACO! Please tell me that it's just a phase," Ann said.

"It's not!" Lynn said, blushing furiously.

"Come on, Lynn, if any Gryffindor should be with Draco, it's so obviously Ron!" Ann yelled.

"SHUT UP!" both Lynn and Ron yelled furiously. (A/N: One of my friends actually thinks that. I definitely don't, though)

"Guys, lay off her, I'm thinking," Bennie muttered. She was proofreading her homework from the floor.

"Lay off what?"

The portrait hole swung open and Hermione walked in the room.

"The girls are teasing Lynn for liking Malfoy," Ginny said distractedly. She was immersed in her Transfiguration book, studying for the O.W.L.'s that seemed so much closer this side of summer.

Hermione bit her lip, unsure of whether or not to reprimand the girls as part of her prefect's duty, even if Malfoy was a slimy, sleazy son of a…but Hermione wouldn't go that route.

"Why DO you like him, anyway?" Seamus asked. He and the other boys had retreated to a corner of the room away from the girls, who had spread themselves out all over the floor of the Gryffindor common room, which had been nicknamed the "Lion's Den".

"I don't know why, I just do!" Lynn yelped.

"Let's look at all the things girls generally go for in boys," Marcie said, waving her wand. "_Escribo_." Words began to form in mid-air. "Let's see. Intelligent. Let's give him half a point for that."

".5" appeared next to the word "Intelligent".

"Funny. Nope."

An "x" crossed over the word "Funny".

"How about "Good-looking"?"

"Another "x" for that," Ann laughed, sending an "x" through "Good-looking".

"Rich. Well, we can give him that."

A check mark appeared next to the word "Rich".

"And "single". He's dating that cow Pansy Parkinson, so nothing there, and besides, Elizabeth has her eye on him." "Single" was crossed out. "Out of a possible 5 points, he received a measly, embarrassing, humiliating, kick-yourself-in-your-own-stupidity 1.5. He IS the weakest link, good-bye!" Marcie squawked.

"You are such a dork, Marcie," Corrine said.

"Hey, this dork beat everyone except Hermione out in the Ancient Runes O.W.L.…and that was a bad comeback," Marcie said, grinning in mock self-deprecation.

"And you, missy, where have you been?" Corrine asked, looking at Hermione. "Been snogging that boyfriend of yours?"

Hermione's face turned pink. "No!"

"Where is Harry, anyway?" Bennie asked, looking up from her homework.

"He's still in the Room of Requirement, looking up on the Unforgivables. Some of the others are with him."

"Hey, we should be there, too," Marcie said, putting the pillow aside. "And let's hit up the Badger's Hole, the Eagle's Nest, and the Snake's Pit on our way there. The whole D.A. should be in on this."

"Guys, move your butts," Lynn called. "We're going to the Room of Requirement."

There was much muttering amongst the guys as they picked themselves up reluctantly.

* * *

"Mudblood-lovers! Blood traitors! Shame of the wizarding race! How dare you besmirch the noble house of Salazar Slytherin! How dare you—"

"SHUT UP!" Elizabeth yelled, throwing her Study of Ancient Runes book at one of the portraits, labeled Cassiopeia Black, in the Snake's Pit, AKA the Slytherin common room. Cassiopeia screeched loudly and disappeared.

"Thanks, Elizabeth," Anais said from her spot on the floor. Joan was sitting on the couch behind her, braiding her hair. Linda and Tony were lazing on various seats.

"Her words are like music to my ears," a silky voice said, and Draco appeared from the stairs.

"Then you're tone-deaf," Joan answered nastily.

"Cassiopeia is right," a screechy voice shrieked, and Pansy appeared right next to Draco. "You are blood traitors and Potter-lovers. You don't belong in Slytherin!"

"That's funny. I'd think the Sorting Hat knows a bit more than you do," Joan said coldly.

Pansy glared. She whipped out one of the old "Potter stinks" badges and pressed it. "Sunset sucks" blared in green light across the room.

"Pansy, has anyone ever told you that you are in desperate need of a hobby?" Tony asked distractedly.

"Mudblood-torture is my hobby!" Pansy screeched, whipping out her wand.

In an instant, Joan was on her feet, her own wand pointed at Pansy. Elizabeth's wand was in her hand. Anais, Linda, and Tony were fishing for their wands.

"You're outnumbered," Joan said, in a steely tone.

"Be a good girl and put your wand away, dearest cousin Pansy," Elizabeth said, grinning nastily.

"You're not my cousin!" Pansy snarled. "The Attisons and the Parkinsons have severed all ties!"

"And I'm sure they're all terribly sad about it," a brand-new voice said sarcastically.

"Gryffindors! What are they doing in our common room?" Pansy screeched, pointing as the portrait whole swung shut behind Marcie.

"Anais gave us the password," Marcie said. "Guys, we're going to the R. O. R. to look up some stuff on the Unforgivables. Wanna come with?" She held up a stereo-esque box. "Brought my wireless."

"I'll come," Tony offered, standing up. Anais and Linda stood up, too.

"Yeah, whatever," Elizabeth said.

"Joan, you coming?" Marie said.

"Yeah, give me a minute." Joan's eyes were still on Pansy and Draco.

Elizabeth lingered as Marcie left with Tony, Linda, and Anais. Only after the portrait hole was shut did anyone speak.

"You're forgetting who you're related to, Sunset," Draco said softly.

"Who I'm related to means nothing. And you can bite me, Malfoy," she returned coldly.

Elizabeth pursed her lips in amusement. "Language, language, Joan," she said in a sing-song voice. Carelessly, she walked up to Draco and put her arms around him. "Don't talk that way about my Draco."

"YOUR Draco!" Pansy screeched.

"Yes, mine." Grinning maliciously, she planted a light kiss on Draco's cheek. "'Later, darling."

Roughly shoving Pansy aside, she and Joan walked out of the Snake's Pit and followed the impatiently waiting others to the Room of Requirement.

* * *

"The gang's all here," Thomas said, looking up as Marcie and the Slytherins entered.

The Room of Requirement had opened itself up to fit 39 people accordingly, filled with big, stuffed armchairs. Couples had sanctioned off to sit with each other, and groups of friends were all sitting around chairs, two of them per group having a silent battle over which would claim it as his or her own.

"Set up the WWN," Elizabeth ordered.

Without even thinking about it, Marcie sent her WWN onto a table. Music began playing softly.

"I love that thing. It's like a Muggle CD player," Marcie said, settling in next to Lynn and Emmanuela and picking a book up from the pile inside their circle, entitled Dark Arts and Those Who Use Them.

""All the best in Magic and Muggle music"," Anita quoted, grinning.

Harry hadn't really taken into consciousness what Anita had said, but more of the context with which she had been speaking. His days had been filled with depression, death, loss, and tears. And suddenly, 19 new people had been thrust into his life, filled with smiles and laughter. It was a refreshing tonic to see some human life again.

"Nice, isn't it?" Hermione said, as though reading his mind. The two of them had been sharing a seat, Hermione sitting on the armrest. "They're all normal, these people. They're HAPPY."

"That won't last for long," Harry said, suddenly bitter. "Just wait until their families start dying. They'll be outta here like bats outta Hell…"

"Harry, the best will stick around," Hermione said patiently. "The entire wizarding world is expecting you to play Jesus. But even Jesus had his disciples."

"A good many of them abandoned him," Harry said, with a playful one-up tone. "One betrayed him."

"Well, a good few were faithful," Hermione retorted. "Anyway, history never EXACTLY repeats itself, does it?"

"No…I suppose not," Harry said, opening up the book. Hermione leaned over, her elbow resting on his shoulder, and read with him.

* * *

"Luna, can you shut the window?" Ron asked.

Luna looked up from the book she had been reading. "I like the fresh air, Ron. But you're right, I should. I don't want the Beefer Bugs getting in."

"The WHAT?"

"Beefer Bugs. Bettle-like insects that eat bits of skin if you let them."

"…Okay," Ron said slowly.

Luna got up and shut the window, and then settled back into her book.

"What are you reading?"

"Dark Arts Defeated," she answered promptly. "It's a favorite. I almost like it as much as The Quibbler."

Ron refrained from commenting, just nodding.

"I hate the Dark Arts," Luna said suddenly, while Ron was in the process of pulling a book from the shelf.

"Yeah, I do too," Ron said bitterly. "I just lost two brothers because of it. So did my mother," he added, thinking of Gideon and Fabian Prewett, the uncles he would never know.

"And I; my mother."

Ron turned around, looked confused. "But Harry said your mother died in an accident."

Luna looked ready to slap herself. Her face turned bright red.

"I lied," she said slowly. "The explosion was caused by Dark wizards. Daddy nearly went insane over it."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault," Luna said.

"I guess that's why he's in the Order now, huh?"

"…Yes, I suppose so."

Ron surveyed Luna. Had she changed over the summer, or was he just seeing things? Why did she seem just a little less crazy and a little more…pretty?

"Ron? Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not staring at you. Why would I stare at you? Are you cold?" he blurted out unexpectedly

"A little," Luna said.

"Why don't you go get a sweater?"

"I don't have any."

Ron thought of his own dorm, where he had accumulated 15plus year's worth of Weasley sweaters. Then he looked at Luna, and noticed how skinny and pale she actually was.

"Want one of mine?"

"One of yours?" she repeated.

"Yeah. I have a thousand, anyway. Losing one won't hurt." He pulled out his wand.

"That's a nice wand," Luna commented.

"Lime tree, 13 inches, unicorn hair," Ron said briefly. "_Accio_ sweater!"

"Mine's made from the Rowan tree. It's 12 inches and it has a unicorn hair, too."

"That's cool," Ron said, as the door cracked open slightly and a sweater, with the letter "R" and a Gryffindor lion stitched onto it, flew across the room and into his hands. The other D.A. members looked up inconspicuously at where the sweater was headed, hid smirks, and returned to their work.

"Thank you, Ron," Luna said. She unclasped her Ravenclaw robe and pulled the sweater over the shirt and tie she had on underneath. She picked up her discarded robe and hooked the clasp, though unconsciously making sure that the "R" was still showing.

Ron's face was nearly as red as his hair. "No problem, Luna."

She smiled lightly at him, and then returned to her book.

* * *

"Petunia, I do believe that's the 9 o'clock curfew," Snape said, as bells rang throughout the grounds.

"Well, we're teachers, we can break curfew, can't we?" Petunia asked, smiling even though tears were running down her face. She was still hanging on to him.

"The Dark Lord is waiting for us to make a wrong move," Snape said, but he was smiling too, or at least trying to. Every time he tried to smile it turned out like a smirk or made small children run away screaming.

She sighed. "Severus, why can't it be like it was before?"

"Because this is life. It changes. Not always for the better."

She sighed again. "I guess you're right. We just have to make the most of it while we're here, won't we?" She stepped back, wiped tears from her face, and smiled bravely. "Thanks for comforting me, Severus. I feel a bit more like the witch Petunia Evans and less like Kill-everything-magical Petunia Dursely."

She found his hand, squeezed it, and then made her way towards the ladder that led down to the 7th floor.

And he, once again, stared after her, wondering what exactly had happened to Petunia Evans when they had been apart.

* * *

I'm falling in love with the Petunia/Snape pairing! I love portraying their human sides.

Also, I just recently discovered that Molly is a Prewett and have made changes accordingly. Does anyone now if they were her brothers or cousins or whatever? I've made them out to be her brothers.


	13. Over The Course Of True Love

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter or the D. Umb law. That's another author's creation. I don't own the Mad Hatter. I don't own either song.

A/N: This story takes place 3 weeks from last chapter. It starts on September 28th, but then it changes to October 2nd.

A/N #2: If anyone can think of ways to be obsessd with Harry Potter, please leave them in a review. I've started a list on my bio. Also, I've started the Harry Potter Drinking Game on my bio, too, so check that out, too.

Shout-outs:

Elizabeth Attison: Nicole hasn't read it yet…so I don't mind giving you the hint that this particular subplot is going in your favor…don't think there won't be some issues with Lynn, though.

* * *

Over The Course of True Love

* * *

"I can see why people like fur coats."

Remus looked up from beneath thick, black eyelashes. He was curled like a dog in Tonks's office, covered in thick gray fur with a huge white streak along his stomach and black hairs here and there. One leg was chained to the wall, just in case something went wrong with the potion and he turned vicious again.

"It's really soft," Tonks continued, stroking his head. "Thank God there was a ban on werewolf-hunting for their furs. Too many people were getting themselves killed. God forbid they do something for the werewolves, though."

Remus let out a small growl, like normal dogs do when they want your attention.

"Getting too gloomy again, aren't I? I know the last thing you need right now is for me to get depressed, too." She scratched his ears. He wagged his tail.

"Remus, you are just too cute when you're a dog," Tonks laughed. "We used to have this one dog, Altair, and he would do that thing were he rolled over on his stomach and…yeah, like that!"

Remus rolled over on his back and started to twist around, trying to bite his tail. Tonks started laughing uncontrollably, and Remus rolled over on his stomach and licked her hand.

"An Auror needs her laughs, especially now," Tonks said decisively, stroking his head again. "Well, anyway, I feel like talking. The D.A.'s been working extremely hard. Nearly all of them can perfectly resist the Imperius Curse, even though the Slytherins need some work on it. Believe me, getting that many people to resist that curse in just three weeks is amazing."

He growled in agreement.

"I hate having to guess what you're saying, Remus, even if I am pretty good at it," Tonks said. "Well, here's something cool. I've got a Metamorphmagus in the D.A. That girl, Bernice Amherst. I'm so glad they all call her "Bennie". Poor girl, to have a name like that. It's like "Nymphadora". Yes, I know you think my name is elegant," she said quickly, seeing his wolfish brown eyes with their large black pupils raise, "but I think it's froofy and it sounds like a poodle. I hate poodles. I like wolves and back labs."

Remus's face fell. Sirius had transformed into a black lab.

Tonks swore in self-berating. "I'm so sorry, Remus." She laid her head on his stomach and pet his back. "I miss him a lot, too, you know."

He turned his head and managed to lick her face.

She giggled and sat up straight. "All right, we'll try not to think about it."

She sighed, and started staring at the far wall. She was silent for a good five minutes, until Remus pushed his nose under her arm to get her attention.

"You have a very cold and wet nose, love," Tonks said, smiling. She scratched his nose.

He made soft whimpering sound.

"What am I thinking about? A lot of things, Remus. About how hard it is to try and keep up the morale of the wizarding world. About how well I'm training 39 teenagers to battle an evil they shouldn't even be hearing about. About how very awkward it is to be talking to my boyfriend when he's a werewolf. And that brings me to this."

Remus looked up at her, questions appearing in his head.

"Your lycanthropy has never been an issue with me. And I'm not about to let the rest of the world make it an issue for us. You fully realize, due to the Lycanthropy Protection Act, forced through by none other than our favorite Dolores Umbridge, strictly forbids any werewolf and human relations, romantic or professional, right?"

He snarled viciously. He utterly despised the D. Umb law, as he had heard other werewolves jokingly call it, as well as D. Umb herself.

"And we are involved in both respects. I'm not about to have us thrown in prison for loving each other. So, I'm going to ask you to do this, and I'm going to keep asking you to do this until you actually do it."

She shoved up her sleeve, exposing her pale forearm, and shoved it under his nose.

"Bite me."

Remus yelped and jumped back.

"I'm well aware I'll lose my job as an Auror if word gets out. I don't care. I don't need the title to do the job, do I? I'll still be the D.A.D.A teacher, too. I won't leave unless I'm sacked."

Remus snarled, shaking his head like a dog shaking water off itself.

"Remus, I've anticipated your every argument. You don't want me to feel the pain of a transformation every month. That's what the Wolfsbane Potion is for. You don't want me to face prejudice. I say forget the rest of the world. All I want is to be on the same level as you. YOU are all that matters when it comes to this. And besides, it'll be strictly Don't-ask-don't-tell, ask-and-get-blown-off."

He was still shaking his head.

"Remus, listen to me!" Tonks exploded, and he stopped moving. "I WANT you to do this. Just bite my arm, and we can get rid of this situation. I'm tried of hiding our relationship because of some stupid law that Dumbridge passed!"

Tonks swiped her wand off of the table. "Snape must have some Wolfsbane left. _Accio_ Wolfsbane Potion!"

Instantly, the cup filled with the murky brown Wolfsbane Potion. She didn't hesitate at sight of the dung-smelling muck, just splashed it down her throat.

She started coughing, and leaned over, trying to catch her breath. Chunks of brown flew out of her throat and splattered on the floor. Remus jogged to her, pushing his pointed nose underneath her face.

"That was disgusting," she said, finally catching her breath. She sat up properly. "I'll get used to it."

She pushed up her sleeve again and offered it to Remus. He backed away, looking at her apprehensively.

"Remus, I want you to do this. Please. Just bite me. It'll all be okay. You're the one who told me to stop worrying, remember? This will help me."

He edged toward her, still looking uncertain.

"Remus. Please."

He looked up at her from beneath his eyelashes.

"I'm not backing out. I love you."

He looked back at her arm. Then, slowly, he took it between his teeth and sunk his teeth, as gently as he could into her skin.

She grimaced. Being bitten was not a pleasant experience.

She began to feel sick, as if she had just taken Polyjuice Potion. She felt her back arch downwards, and watched as gray fur began to sprout on the back of her arm.

She smiled, both sorrowful and happy.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Sweater from your boyfriend?" a Ravenclaw boy snickered.

Luna had endured many such remarks for the past three and ½ weeks. Perhaps she wouldn't have, if she hadn't insisted on wearing her Weasley sweater as often as she did. She wore it nearly everyday, and the Cleaning Charm, "_Scourgify_" was often heard from her end of the dorm.

"Y'see, Luna," Olivia had explained, "in the Muggle world, they have these things called Varsity jackets for sports players. They have the owner's last name and their number on it. And usually the owner gives the jacket to his girlfriend."

"That's interesting," Luna said.

"Luna, what Ron did is basically the equivalent."

"…Oh." Luna had turned pink and had quickly walked away, summoning a Quibbler magazine and sinking into an armchair, ignoring everyone else as she hid behind its pages.

"It is a sweater from my friend," Luna answered, this time that same as last, and all the times before it. "I was given it because I was cold."

"Aww. An evil-fighting couple. How quaint," the boy said, and returned to snickering.

"Well, there are quite a few of them," Amy said, entering the room. She and Luna were great friends. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs generally were. The D.A. had exchanged passwords to their Common Room, so random members often flitted in and out of the Lion's Den, the Eagle's Nest, the Badger's Hole, and the Snake's Pit. "Harry and Hermione, Dean and Parvati, Seamus and Lavender, Anthony and Padma, Ginny and Colin, and Thomas and me. One more won't hurt."

"I am more likely to date a Beefer Bug than Ron," Luna said. "Not that I don't like him, of course, but we have a very slim chance at courtship."

"You two would be cute together, though," Amy said. "Oh, well. Got that hat ready for the Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin game?"

"It's upstairs, and good luck to you, Amy."

"Thanks," Amy answered.

"Ready to go, Amy?" Thomas called from the end of the room. He had been waiting for Amy to stop talking to Luna.

"Yep!" she called back. "See ya, Luna." Amy walked off, put her hand in Thomas's, and disappeared out the portrait hole.

Luna stood in the Eagle's Nest, swaying uncertainly back and forth. The game was going to start very soon, so she had better get that hat and get to the grounds. Briefly, she wondered if Ron would be there, but she decided not, after all, he wasn't supporting either team.

"Maybe I should invite him…" she wondered out loud.

"Looney, stop standing there and go snog your boyfriend," the boy said again.

"My name is Luna Selena Nokomis Cynthia Diana Artemis Tsuki Gwendolyn Phoebe Lovegood, NOT Looney, and I have no boyfriend as of now," Luna said coldly. "Kindly refrain from implying otherwise."

"Or what, you'll sic your Beefer Bug on me?"

"No. Perhaps a Heliopath will do," Luna said, glaring icily. She whisked herself upstairs to collect her hat, plopped it on her hand, flounced down the stairs and out the portrait hole before anyone could say anything else regarding her or Ron.

She had just slammed the portrait hole shut when she heard her name being called.

"Yes?" she called, a little shortly.

"What's got you all hot and bothered?" Harry and Hermione were approaching.

"And you're STILL wearing Ron's sweater?" Hermione added.

"Is that a problem, Hermione Emma Granger?" Luna asked crisply.

"No, I…oh, I see. People bothering you about Ron, are they? They'll get over it. They got over Harry and I rather quickly, didn't they?" She gave Harry's hand a little squeeze.

"Well, I think you and Ginny cursing Malfoy had something to do with that," Harry said grinning.

Luna looked at the two of them. "If you don't mind my asking, just how did you two become a couple?"

"That's…that's just a bit personal, Luna," Hermione said. It was highly awkward to say that she and Harry had first kissed while she was recuperating in the hospital, after just blurting out that she had been adopted by her aunt and uncle and her real parents were pure-blood Death Eaters.

"Oh, I'm sorry to have asked, then. May I ask how you know that you were in love, then?"

Both of them looked a little thunderstruck.

"It's hard to explain, Luna," Harry said. "I guess it's just something you feel in your gut. You know how with your friends, you can accept them for all their faults and like them anyway? Well, with this, you can see all their faults and not only accept them, but actually begin to like them. Take Hermione, she can be an insufferable bookworm."

"And Harry can be stubborn and self-righteous," Hermione countered.

"But that's just part of what makes her appealing," Harry finished. "When you see them, you just think about how much you want to protect them and never want to see them hurt."

"It all boils down to feelings, Luna. Some things you have to feel to know," Hermione added.

Luna looked back and forth between them. "Thank you, you two. That's been very helpful."

"…Well, this was a weird conversation," Harry said.

"Am I REALLY insufferable?" Hermione asked.

"Stupid, stupid Harry. Open mouth, insert foot." He began to step away very quickly.

"Oh no, Harry James Potter, you're not getting away with that!"

"But you called him stubborn and self-righteous," Luna said.

"The women wear the pants in almost all relationships. It's a perk," Hermione said. "Well, good luck Luna, if you're planning on doing something involving Ron…that sounded wrong. Well, anyway, listen. I'm sorry to have been such a prat about heliopaths and snorkacks and all that. I don't believe in them, but I guess you're allowed to believe in them."

"Why, thank you, Hermione. That was really nice of you."

"All right, you guys are sounding really corny right about now," Harry called from 10 feet away.

"I'll give you "corny"! You're gonna pay for calling me an insufferable bookworm!" With a small wave to Luna, Hermione ran after Harry, who had bolted.

"You seen the lovebirds anywhere?"

Luna jumped. "Ron!"

"That's me. I see you really like my sweater."

"It's the warmest thing I own."

"Just wait 'till Christmas. I'll give you the one I get then. Better yet, I'll ask Mum to make one for you."

She smiled brightly at him, and he suddenly went red again. Why was he always running his mouth off like this?

"Hey, do you want to come to the Quidditch match with me? Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin." She tapped her hat, with showed a badger stomping on a snake.

"And see Slytherin get pummeled? I would PAY to see that."

"I should like to see Draco Malfoy get hit by a Heliopath, I think," Luna said. "He asked me yesterday just how distant a relative the Mad Hatter was from me."

"How about trampled by a whole herd of those Heliopaths? I'd give all my gold to see that."

"Well, that wouldn't be very wise, would it? You'd have none left." She laughed.

"You have a very weird laugh," Ron said. "It changes all the time."

""Capricious" is how Daddy describes it," Luna said, and then suddenly she fell quiet.

"Hey…Hey, Luna. Luna!"

"Hmm?"

"You got quiet all of a sudden."

"I was thinking of Daddy. I'm his one and only."

"That's good. In any sense you wanna take it, the world is not big enough for two Luna Lovegoods."

"I shall take that as a compliment."

"Good, 'cause otherwise, you'd've hit me."

"Why would I do that?"

"'Cause that's what girls do."

"I've never hit anyone, except with spells," Luna said proudly. "I dislike violence."

"Except when it comes to Malfoy getting hit by Heliopaths."

"Well, there is always the exception, isn't there?"

* * *

Petunia had been walking towards the stairs that led out to the Quidditch field, to see the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff match, when Snape had called out her.

She turned around and made her way towards where Snape was standing in the hallway. September had closed out. 3 ½ weeks ago they had stood together on the Astronomy tower, but they hadn't seen much of each other since, except for classes.

"What is it, Severus?" she asked.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back from the throng of students running out of the building. He yanked her back towards the stairs, where there was the least likely chance of being overheard.

"Dumbledore has informed me that there is some suspicious Death Eater activity. We, apparently, have another spy that I knew nothing of among the Dark Lord's supporters. Anyway, the Death Eaters seem to be preparing for a big battle. He wants us to be prepared, in case the Dark Lord is planning a battle with us."

"Oh, Jesus, thanks for telling me," Petunia said. "I'll pass the message on to Harry."

"No, he'll be informed. You are needed at the Quidditch match to keep a lookout."

"Good, I was just heading there. What about you?"

"I'm going to Dumbledore's office to hear my instructions."

She looked, just slightly, crestfallen. "Oh, all right then. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"No reason in particular, Severus. No reason at all. I'll see you later."

For a moment, just a fleeting moment, he thought he saw 18-year-old Petunia Evans, about to head off to her own class. He squinted his eyes and then opened them, and was back to present-day Petunia, who was walking away.

"Severus? Good, good, I was just about to find you."

"And I was on my way to you, Albus," Snape said.

"You just told Petunia of the attack, correct?"

"Yes."

"But you've yet to tell her what else is important."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Severus, don't play the fool with me. It has been obvious to everyone who cares to look that you still have feelings for Petunia."

"With the utmost respect, Albus, that's absurd."

"You may deny it as long as you like. I don't advise putting it off. You will never know if she understood when it's too late to ask her."

Snape watched as Dumbledore's eyes misted over. He had been strange like this ever since St. Mungo's. Most of the Order still had no idea about the "Socks" comment. In fact, only Harry was privy to the secret of Oleta.

"All right, Severus, have it your way. You wish to have your assignment, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"You will guard the Quidditch field. You will inform the others of this possible threat. And then you will stay there. Half of our student body has assembled there, and we need people to look after them."

"And you, sir?"

"I shall be looking after the other half who remains inside, as well as presiding over Belicia Granger and the Veritaserum in the making."

"I'll be on my way, then." Snape said with a nod, and turned to walk off.

"Severus."

"Yes?"

"Mind what I said before. If you still care about her, don't put off letting her know."

Snap abstained from answering, and continued to walk off. Dumbledore sighed and began to walk down towards the dungeons. He needed to check on Granger.

* * *

"Hermione, sitting right there really isn't going to do anything."

"As I've said for the past 2 weeks, Harry, I don't care. This is the ideal spot to do my weekend homework while doing my part to guard a Death Eater. You don't have to stay with me if you think it's useless."

Hermione was propped up against the banister of the stairs leading down to the dungeons, her Advanced Placement Transfiguration book lying open on her knees. Harry was leaning against the opposing wall, arms folded and one leg bent so his foot rested on the wall.

"What, and leave you alone here? You'd snap and try to kill her again."

"You're right, I would."

Harry studied her for a long minute. She tried to ignore him, and managed to read and absorb 10 pages worth of knowledge, before she sighed, shut the book, and looked up.

"Is there something on my face?"

"No."

"Then why are you staring at me?"

"I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"This fixation you have about killing your mother. I wouldn't have thought you would be so intent on a murder, even if it was a Death Eater."

Hermione sighed, and set the book down. "Harry, do you remember seeing Pettigrew escape?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember watching Bellatrix Lestrange kill Sirius?"

"That's one image I will never get out of my mind."

"Do you remember all the hatred you felt towards them? And do you feel it now?"

"Of course I do."

"That is exactly how I feel about Aaron and Belicia. Harry, I am their CHILD. As much as I hate it, I am their flesh and blood. Parents are supposed to love their child, protect it, cherish it above all others. But they didn't do that. Their care entailed the minimum requirements it takes to keep a baby alive. Then they were off again, killing more people. My aunt and uncle took care of me far better than they ever did, even though they had been estranged."

Tears were in her eyes now. "They loved me, protected me, and cherished me above all else. They died trying to save me. And then, Belicia, my birth mother, tried to kill me. Because I wasn't going to join Voldemort, she tried to kill me. A person like that does not deserve to live, Harry. The use of an Unforgivable is accepted in this case."

"Yes, but it's still an Unforgivable. You're still causing someone pain or death." Harry had been struggling with himself with this very question ever since June, when he had attempted the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix.

"And that's why I voted as to not knowing whether or not we should use them back in September, remember?" She wiped her eyes. "Harry, I hate who I become when I use an Unforgivable. But I love the world without people like her in it even better. She's not going to reform on her own, or with help. She's going to remain a murderess. And when evil can't reform itself, it must be destroyed." She looked up at him. "That's what I truly believe, Harry. It's what we're all going to have to believe if we're going to pull through with our sanity."

Harry went over to her and put his arm around her. "I guess you're right, Hermione. But then, you usually are."

Hermione sniffled and gave him a little push. "Now, let's have a different subject. What about Luna earlier, eh?"

"I'll bet you two Galleons she tells Ron she fancies him within the month."

"Harry! We shouldn't bet on our friend."

"Yeah, you're right," Harry said, faking shame.

"At least, not that pitiful of an amount!" she tagged on.

Harry squeezed her around the shoulder and ruffled her hair. "You're just a bit devious, aren't you?"

"Just the tiniest bit, yes," she answered.

"Ah, I see I'm not needed to guard Mrs. Granger. You two have been doing it for me."

"Oh, hello, Professor," Hermione said as Dumbledore approached. Harry nodded his greeting and waved.

"Why are you not out in the Quidditch stands? I would imagine that's where your friend Ron Weasley is."

"I think he and Luna have it covered," Harry said, shooting a grin at Hermione.

"Ah, yes. Well, I'm afraid I must give you a warning. We have received an anonymous tip of some suspicious Death Eater activity. We fear they might be planning to attack the school."

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth.

"We're not sure. It might be someone's idea of a joke. But all the same, you should be on your guard. I was going to make sure she was still imprisoned, but I see you have it covered."

"What should we do, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Stay where you are for now. If anything happens, you will know."

Hermione took a deep breath. "All right. We'll be here…for now."

"Of course. It would be a fool's errand to tell you to stay here if there is an attack. I will be patrolling the halls if you need me."

"All right. That's good," Harry said.

"Good-bye now."

"'Bye, Professor," Harry and Hermione chorused. Dumbledore walked away.

"Jeez," Harry pushed his face through his hands, pulling his hair back. "Why do we never attack first?"

"Well, my guess is that we don't know where they are, but they very much know where we are. And we lost our spy. This anonymous tip guy is a blessing."

"I wanna know who this "anonymous tip" guy is."

"You can't, Harry, see, that's part of being anonymous."

"Shut up. You're a prat."

"You love me anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." But he was grinning.

* * *

"Lynn, where're you headed?"

"Nowhere," Lynn said hurriedly, trying to walk away from Marcie as fast as she could. They were both in the Lion's Den, Marcie on the couch, Lynn walking towards the portrait hole.

"Y'know, you don't need my permission to like him," Marcie said, sounding a little put-off. "You're entitled to your feelings even if I think he's a sleazy scumbag. Just get to the Quidditch field and cheer for him until you're blue in the face; no one's stopping you."

Lynn relaxed. "Thanks."

"No prob," Marcie answered, as her cat, Beth, jumped into her lap and began licking her arm. "But God knows the trouble you'll have with both Elizabeth and Pansy. How the git got three girls to like him all at once is beyond me."

"He's not a git, Marcie!"

"A prat, then." She waved Lynn away before she could counter that. "Just go cheer for him. I give both you and Elizabeth my luck. Who knows, maybe you'll team up to kill Pansy and do everyone a favor."

Lynn swung open the Fat Lady's portrait, grinning, and stepped out.

She honestly didn't know why she had a thing for Draco Malfoy. Perhaps it had started on the Hogwarts Express in 1st year, when she had dropped her book and he had handed it back to her. Given, he was muttering something about "clutzy idiots", but the fact remained that he had shown he had at least a minuscule considerate side.

And no matter what Ann said, she thought he was good-looking.

It was especially weird being a Gryffindor who had a crush on a Slytherin. But Gryffindors were known for their bravery, weren't they? She would show her feelings for the world to see.

And hopefully, she'd get the desired reaction from Draco Malfoy.

She knew that Elizabeth was thinking along the same lines, except it was much easier for Elizabeth, being a fellow Slytherin. That only strengthened Lynn's resolve. Win or lose, Gryffindors did not back down.

* * *

"Severus! What are you doing here?" Petunia called over the shouting of the Hufflepuff and Slytherin fans.

"I'm to stand guard with you," Snape answered.

"That's good. I haven't see anything amiss so far."

"Don't let down your guard," Snape advised darkly.

"Mm." Petunia turned and squinted into the distance.

Snape pulled McGonagall aside and whispered Dumbledore's warning to her. She nodded her comprehension, so he turned back to Petunia and stared at the back of her head, imagining the long mane of thick hair she'd once had.

He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. Why was he always seeing her as the girl he'd been in love with, instead of the widow who was working with him to take down Voldemort?

Dumbledore's voice flashed in his mind. "_If you still care about her, don't put off letting her know_." Did he really still care about her? Had 24 years not taken away his love, but only buried it?

It wasn't like he'd had much experience with love. God knows his own parents, Hadar and Pearla, had experienced severe marital problems until their messy divorce in his 7th year. He'd never had a girlfriend before or after Petunia, and he felt no love for his students, barring certain Slytherins.

'Are you afraid?' a nasty voice mocked in his head.

'I'm not afraid,' another voice shot back.

'Then stop being a prat and tell her that you can't stop thinking about her.'

"Severus, are you okay?" Petunia asked, turning around. "You've been quiet."

"As a matter of fact, there is something that's been on my mind," he said, in a very low tone. He felt a pounding in his stomach. "I've been thinking of this since July, when we met again. I've found it impossible to stop thinking about how we were in our seventh year."

"Severus, what are you saying?" Petunia asked. Her hands had begun to shake slightly and there was a tugging at her mouth.

"I'm saying, Petunia, that I'm still in love with you."

There. He'd said it. And it felt good to say it. All he had to do now was wait for a sign that it had registered. A kiss, a slap, tears, whatever she was going to throw his way would be her answer.

Petunia was completely shell-shocked. She hadn't been expecting a declaration that her old boyfriend was still interested in her.

Or had she? It was true that she felt a sense of familiarity when she was with him. Despite their unfortunate parting, he reminded her of better days. Even in his role as the aloof, calculating teacher and spy, he made her feel comforted. She warmed when he was near her.

"Severus, I…what the?"

Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that. "What is it?"

"Oh, my God."

A shaking finger pointed beyond Snape's head. He whipped around and squinted into the distance.

Black dots were appearing in the sky, flying at an alarming rate towards the stands. He could barely see the outlines of black robes flapping in the wind.

He swore so badly and so loudly the other teachers in the box turned to stare at him.

"Severus, I hardly think…" McGonagall started.

"Death Eaters," he said in a steely tone. "Coming this way."

There was an absolute silence…before the panic set in.

McGonagall ripped the Magical Megaphone from the commentator's mouth.

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS. PROCEED TO YOUR COMMON ROOMS RIGHT NOW. DO NOT SLOW OR STOP FOR ANYTHING. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THE SCHOOL IS UNDER ATTACK. I REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL."


	14. No Longer The Last Safe Place On Earth

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

No Longer The Last Safe Place

* * *

Amy groped into her Quidditch robes for her wand.

"You guys, get back into the school," she ordered, her voice stretching over the entire Quidditch field. "And for God's sake, Malfoy, get inside before you pee yourself."

Despite the situation, Amy couldn't hide her smile at the trembling Draco Malfoy.

He glared at the both of them. His fear was a total farce. Narcissa had owled him earlier to tell him to be on his guard, and he had been awaiting the Death Eaters anxiously since this morning.

Amy did not catch his glare or the hidden smirk that followed. She was flying towards the commentator's box.

"What are you doing?" McGonagall shouted. The black forms were becoming clearer in the sky, and beginning to take true shape.

"I'm an adult witch and a D.A. member. What do you think I'm doing?" she asked.

"Being an imbecile, that's what you're doing!" McGonagall spat.

"You can't force me off," Amy said quietly.

McGonagall breathed sharply through her nose. "If you insist on being a dunderhead about it, I'll give you this warning. You are the second line of defense, and second line ONLY. And since you are so keen on fighting, you'll follow my orders. Make sure all of the students are back in the school before you even THINK about battling."

"Yes, ma'am." She swung her leg over her broom and zoomed off towards the stands.

* * *

Lynn stepped out onto the grounds just to be pushed back with the force of 50 people swarming towards that particular entrance. She stumbled, nearly tripping, and pressed herself against the wall. Reaching tentatively for a familiar person, she managed to lasso Anais and pull her over to the side. Anais was one of Marcie's friends, though she was a 4th-year.

"What's the matter? What happened?" she demanded.

"Death Eaters!" Anais yelped.

The color drained from Lynn's browned face. "Oh my God. What should we do?"

"I don't know." Anais pushed her hair off her face, her hands trembling. "Make sure everyone gets in okay?"

"Yeah. Where's Amy?"

"She's out there."

"She's crazy!" Lynn squeaked.

"I know, I know," Anais said hurriedly. "Listen, let's just try and make sure everyone gets inside, all right? Levitate or something; see that everyone gets in."

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Lynn whispered, pointing her wand at herself and slowly rising in the air.

From her point, she could see the green blur of Draco's Quidditch robes. He was sitting stock-still on his broom, staring at the forms that were ever growing in clarity and size as they flew still faster.

"_Locomotor Leviosa_!" Lynn whispered, her wand still pointed at herself. Never mind the fact that the Flying Charm took up almost every bit of magical energy a witch could have. She had to get to him.

"Draco!" she yelled, her voice drowned out by sudden screaming and the howling wind. "DRACO!"

He turned his head very slowly and stared at her. She extended her hand. She was just barely 5 feet away from him.

"Come on!" she yelled. "Get inside!"

He looked at her hand, then at her face, back at her hand, and again at her face. Slowly, a grin broke out on his face, and he began chortling. His laughter grew wilder, and mirthful tears leaked from his eye.

"Draco?"

"And you were kinda cute, too. Too bad you're a moron. Ah, well, survival of the fittest, eh?"

"What are you…"

"_Crucio_!"

Amy screamed as Lynn hit the ground, twitching like a beached fish.

Her wrist whipped in a circle as she aimed for Malfoy. "_Petrific_…"

"AMY!" someone yelled.

Amy turned around just in time to barely dodge a jet of green light. It missed her but struck her broom. It spun in a circle. Her hands, wet with perspiration, and her stomach, nauseous with the situation of impending doom, would not allow her to stay on her broom. Her hands slipped off, her legs lost balance, and she toppled off her broom.

Even as she prepared to hit the ground she felt someone's hand grab her forearm. With a jerk she stopped in mid-air, and nearly screamed as she felt her shoulder pop out of the socket.

"Amy?! Are you okay?! AMY?!"

She looked up slowly. Balancing awkwardly on a broom was Olivia Applegate.

"AMY!!" Olivia hooked her legs around the broomstick and leaned over, taking Amy's arm with her other hand. She managed to ungracefully pull Amy's torso over the broomstick. Thank God she had taken the broomstick of the Slytherin Chaser, otherwise Amy would be suffering from more than a dislocated shoulder.

Olivia flew back towards the stands, where Thomas was waiting. Slinging Amy's good arm around her shoulder, Olivia dropped the broom from inbetween her legs and deposited Amy into Thomas's arms.

She had joined the D.A. to fight. Now was her big moment.

She grabbed the broom up, straddled it, and took off. The Death Eaters had finally arrived.

* * *

Harry and Hermione raced up the stairs, holding each other by the wrists. Just moments ago they had heard McGonagall's warning through an open window.

"Hermione, you go and get students to the Great Hall," he shouted back through short pants of breath.

"What are you doing?" she called back.

"I'm going to go fight."

"Oh, no, you're not!"

Harry's foot caught and he nearly fell forwards as Hermione planted her feet on the floor.

"Hermione, what are you doing?"

"You are not going up to that battlefield alone."

"Hermione, please, let go of my wrist!"

"YOU SWORE YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE ME!!" she screamed at him. "You swore it on Lily's grave! Wherever you go, I'm going to follow. If you go up to that battlefield, I'm going with you. I'll follow you to Hell and back, if that's what it takes for you to STAY WITH ME!!"

Harry stared at her. Her face was paper white and her whole frame trembled. Very slowly, he raised his hand, her hand still clamped on his wrist, and put it to her face.

"I can't have your death on my hands, Hermione."

"Even if you left me right here, I'd follow you. If you chained me to this very spot I'd break through and get to you. Because I love you that much."

"If you truly do, you have to understand that I can't handle having anyone else's deaths on my hands. So, PLEASE, can you just stay inside?"

Hermione took a very deep breath, trying to help her nerves and not succeeding one little bit. "I'll wait for you just inside the doorway. I'll watch you the entire time. I'll help if you need it."

"Hermione…"

"It's either that or I go out there with you for the entire time."

Harry opened his mouth and breathed in, hoping the oxygen would send a stimulator to the nerves that were shattering like a dropped water glass.

"All right."

* * *

Harry let go off Hermione's sweaty hand and a burst of sunlight hit his face as he finally stepped out onto the grounds. The glare was so intense that he had to shield his eyes.

Luckily, he hadn't shielded his ears, and heard the scream of "_Avada Kedavra_!"

He dropped as he felt the curse pass over his head. Thank God that only close-range Killing Curses worked. No one but Voldemort and Dumbledore could possibly make that curse work at anything but point-blank range.

He whipped around as he stood up, pointed his wand, and yelled, "_Vuelas_!" He heard a scream as a Death Eater flew into a wall, and then a slumping sound that signified the Death Eater had hit the ground and would not be getting up anytime soon.

His blood began to pulse harder in his veins as he felt thick, hot anger rise to his face. This was the third time he had dealt with Death Eaters since Sirius's death. The last two times, Bellatrix Lestrange had not been there. Now, he was sure she was.

"Wooking for me, itty-bitty baby Hawwy Potty?"

"You." Harry whipped around and stood face-to-face with her. The woman who haunted his nightmares, laughing at his incompetence, jeering at his loss, patronizingly waving her wand around like a pendulum and daring him to snatch it from her.

"Yes, me, you little berk. What, is Hawwy mad at wittle ol' Bewwa'?" She laughed. "Nice job you did on my husband, kid. He'll be out cold for at least 10 minutes. Too bad you couldn't concentrate some of that energy at saving my dear old cousin…"

"SHUT UP!!" Harry screamed at her, blood flying up to his face.

"Aw, wittle Hawwy is all upset about poor ol' Siwius dying." She snorted viciously. "The waste of carbon deserved it. Running around with filth…"

This was it. Righteous anger was outweighed by pure, utter hatred. They were mingling together and combining into one single, pulsating force that took over every inch of Harry's body.

"_CRUCIO_!!"

Bellatrix's mouth stopped moving and her eyes suddenly widened. She tried to speak, but all that escaped her lips were choked groans. Her fingers began to curl, slowly and unnaturally, and she began to lean backwards, as if attempting an acrobatic bridge.

He stared at her cruelly. "Everything you're feeling now is what I've had to go through for 4 months, ever since you killed Sirius. This is what you deserve. Don't worry, you're not alone. This is what Belicia Granger got, too."

Granger. Hermione. She suddenly burst into his thoughts, and the conversation they were having earlier came along with it. Hermione hated using Unforgivables, but she loved the thought of a world free of Voldemort more.

He watched as Bellatrix sank to her knees, on the ground. The sounds escaping her mouth were becoming connected. "Ahhhh…ahhhhhh…" Her voice was climbing higher and higher into a scream.

He stared at her. Surely this is what she deserved. But why did he feel so empty now? Why was the throbbing anger gone?

Hermione's voice came into his head…"I was at the top of the world and in the depths of despair at the same time."

"_Finite Incantatem_," he whispered, and Bellatrix slumped as the curse left her. "_Petrificus Totalus_."

Bellatrix froze in her position. Furiously, Harry kicked at her form and knocked her over. She had been much too cocky. She thought he was still the rash 15-year-old he had been in June.

He tore his disdainful eyes from her frozen body and began to scan the area. He had to be here. Voldemort would not attack Hogwarts with just his Death Eaters. He'd do it in person.

* * *

Peter looked around the field through the eye slits in his mask. How often had he come down to this Quidditch field in days gone by, to watch or help James and Sirius practice? It seemed almost blasphemous to hold a battle here. It was desecrating the very things held sacred by students.

He looked around again, and suddenly, they were all gone. There were no cloaked and hooded figures brandishing wands and shouting curses, there were no students and teachers yelling back counter jinxes, there were no moans of the dying and injured, indeed, there was only a clean grass scent and a light breeze blowing.

"Wormtail, come on, get on your broom," a male voice called, and Peter whipped around to see James on his Comet 260, the second fastest broom of the day. Peter found an old Shooting Star in his hand, a hand-me-down from his father. "Toss me that Quaffle, would you?"

"Head's up!"

Sirius suddenly shot dangerously close past him, laughing as his Silver Arrow, old but still the fastest broom at that time, strode through the air. He did a loop-de-loop, still laughing wildly.

"Sirius, you will kill yourself one of these days with your stupid stunts," Remus called from his Comet 140, a slow broom but still faster compared to Peter's Shooting Star.

"Yes, yes, and they shall write on my tombstone that I died an honorable death, fighting the forces of the tedious and mundane!"

Remus sighed, James laughed, Sirius turned and flew on his side, and Peter watched it all.

He was suddenly brought back to 2004 as a loud explosion knocked him off his feet and several yards away. He watched as a patch of ground flew over his head, sprinkling the area with dirt that lodged in people's eyes and throats.

'The Quidditch field isn't made for this,' Peter thought wildly. 'It's for school games, for idiots pulling stunts on broomsticks just to make their friends laugh.'

He stared at the field, watching as some little girl tried fighting a fully grown Death Eater. He watched in horror as the Death Eater knocked her over the head with the Dolorous Curse and kicked her away roughly.

He had joined them, for this? To watch as memories were desecrated, as children fought like heroes—and died like heroes, all for a man who would just as soon kill his followers as the next Mudblood?

He couldn't do this anymore. He didn't expect forgiveness or redemption. Not even the anonymous tip he had sent Dumbledore lifted the heaviness weighing on him. But he just couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't live with being responsible for so many people's death.

'James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Harry…Please forgive me."

His hands seized his cloak. In a sudden burst of adrenaline, his ripped the black cloth away from his person and flung it aside. The sun shone down on his ordinary wizarding clothes, and for the first time in a long time, he felt like Wormtail again.

* * *

Elizabeth shoved open the portrait hole of the Snake's Pit, holding a 1st-year by the hand. It had taken a good ten minutes to round them all up. Sniveling brats, Elizabeth branded them. At least, most of them were. She has a special softness for babies and little kids, especially this little 1st-year attached to her hand, who idolized her.

"Hurry up and follow me!" she yelled back at the group. What she wouldn't give for Joan to help her, but Joan was already on the Quidditch field. Joan knew how to command respect. She needed to; she wanted to be an Auror.

She tugged the first year along with her, even as the 11-year-old tripped on the cobblestone floor. She made it to the stairs, jumping nimbly over the trick step.

Other students weren't so lucky.

"You guys are so stupid!" she screeched at them, yanking a 3rd-year's foot from the quicksand-like step. "Now, come on!"

Elizabeth was panicked. This was the last thing she was prepared for, and as the 1st-year clutched her sweaty hand, all she could think of was her baby sister, Michele. Suddenly she thanked God that Michele was still just a toddler and knew nothing of the magical world, and Lydia wouldn't be here for another year.

Unfortunately, not all her relatives were that lucky.

She slammed into Pansy and fell sideways, fortunately catching herself before she hit the ground.

"What's YOUR problem?" she spat, glaring intensely at her cousin.

Pansy remained silent, just staring at Elizabeth as if she were a mildly interesting TV show.

Elizabeth did not take kindly to being patronized. And now was not the time to test her temper.

"If you're done being stupid," she said coolly, swinging her arm to knock Pansy out of her way.

Pansy caught her arm with the grace of a martial arts master and tossed it aside.

"WHAT is your problem?!" Elizabeth screamed at her, pushing the 1st-year behind her and whipping her wand out.

"YOU are my problem, Elizabeth Theresa Attison," Pansy answered.

"Wow, my full name. I'm really scared now," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes.

"You should be," Pansy said.

"Oh, really?"

"Really." Pansy raised her wand, pointed it at Elizabeth, and screamed, "_Furnunculus_!"

Elizabeth shrieked as a huge boil appeared on the side of her face. She clasped her hand to it, but it was already spreading across her whole cheek, festering and popping.

"What are you doing?!" she shrieked, as the boil began to swell out as well as all over.

Pansy brandished her wand, her sleeve falling to her shoulder to show the unearthly Dark Mark on her arm, and said icily, "_Silencio_."

But Elizabeth was ready this time. She whipped her wand in a circle, screaming, "_PROTEGO_!!"

The stream of white light from Pansy's wand bounced off an invisible force field that rippled as the spell hit. The spell rebounded and flew off course.

Pansy's eyes flashed furiously. Her wand shook in her hand. "_Ava_…"

But she never finished the incantation. Her wand dropped out of her hand and she stumbled backwards as Elizabeth's fist smashed into her face.

Pansy screamed, enraged, and opened her mouth to shout an incantation, but Elizabeth dropped to the ground and swung her leg out, tripping Pansy. As the Parkinson daughter fell to the ground, Elizabeth kicked her in the ribs.

Pansy choked, gasping for breath and reaching for her dropped wand. Elizabeth saw her hand not a moment too soon, and kicked the wand out of her reach.

Pansy swore, trying to straighten up, but Elizabeth reared her foot and dug it deep into Pansy's side again. She shrieked, her eyes and voice overflowing with pain.

"Come on, go, go, go!" Elizabeth yelled, grabbing the hand of the 1st-year and jumping nimbly over Pansy's body. She hit the ground just an inch away from Pansy's head, as the fallen girl curled into an almost fetal position to dodge Elizabeth's feet.

The students charged after Elizabeth towards the Great Hall, as the screams of the trampled Pansy faded behind her.

* * *

Dumbledore wiped blood off his upper lip and shot another curse at Voldemort. The battle was not going smoothly. But then again, what battle went smoothly?

He dodged a stream of green light and let out another red one. His nerves were jangling in his body, and he was fighting desperately to control them. Normally he was in complete control.

Was it the events of last June that was doing him in, or was it the sudden freshness in the wound left by Oleta's insanity? Why was she always coming back to him? She had been an amnesiac for nigh unto 17 years, but seeing Voldemort now, it was as if it was 1987 again, and he had knelt beside her, trying to conjure life into her blank eyes after fighting Voldemort out of the house. The old anger, the old woe was welling up inside him again and it was fueling his magic…but it was also clouding his judgment.

"_HOYO_!"

He jabbed his wand in the air and sent out a stream of pure, brilliant gold, blinding to the sight. Power radiated from tip to tip.

He watched as it hit his target, watched as the target let out a groan of agony. Voldemort was clutching his chest, where Dumbledore could see that blood was running loose. But it wasn't normal red blood. It was a thick, disgusting blue-black color.

Voldemort swore incoherently. Dumbledore could not hear exactly what he said. His eyes were fixed on that blood, the color of midnight and the thickness of undiluted eggnog. He'd heard about that blood before. There was something special about that blood. What was it!?

"Professor, look out!"

His mind was brought instantly back to reality as someone pulled him to the right, dodging an angry red stream of light. Parvati was clutching his arm.

"Professor, are you okay?" she yelped, her voice raising with every word.

Thoughts came rushing at him. He had been so absorbed in his fight that he hadn't noticed that some students were still on the field. They needed to be out of here, and now.

"I'm fine, Miss Patil," he started.

His eye suddenly caught another stream of red coming at him. He jumped, shielding Parvati with his back, and narrowly missed getting hit.

"Gather all the students and go back to the castle! Professor McGonagall will tell you where to go! Quickly! Now!"

Parvati nodded her head wildly and then took off. From the corner of his eye, he saw her catch Lavender by the waist and drag her from the fight she was having with what seemed a relatively minor Death Eater.

"Dumbledore, keep your mind on your fight!" Voldemort howled. "Or do you want to go the way I planned to kill your wife?"

Dumbledore turned, blue eyes turned to glacier ice.

"And you failed at even that, didn't you, Tom?" he said coolly.

Voldemort let out a snarl of rage and let out another attack, but Dumbledore had vanished. He silently cursed the old man. He was always forgetting key components. That sacrificing your life was a powerful charm…that phoenix tears had healing powers…that Dumbledore could become invisible at will.

He let out a snarl like a cornered animal and whirled around. Dumbledore was too noble to attack while invisible, but the Potter brat had to be here. He'd already lost against one enemy. He'd see to it he wouldn't lose to another.

* * *

"Bennie, you ready?"

Bennie turned to look at her Defense Against Dark Arts professor.

"I know it's weird," Tonks said sympathetically. "And I don't like it any more than you do."

"Yeah…" Bennie said softly.

"So, are you ready?"

Bennie nodded resignedly, chewing at the corner of her mouth.

"Count of three. One…two…three."

Bennie felt a strange movement inside her, like an earthquake had started, with her body as the epicenter. She felt her face bubble as it morphed into another form, the nose lengthening, the eyes tightening. She felt her hair straighten and could almost see it changing color. She felt herself shoot up at least two feet. And she felt her comfortable wizard robes turn into a weighted black coat. A sudden darkness over her face startled her, before she remembered that it was part of the disguise.

Most frightening of all was the sudden burning on her arm that she knew was making a tattoo she neither wanted nor cared to see.

She turned to look at Tonks, but standing in her place was a masked and cloaked Death Eater.

"Remus knows, so they won't think we've gone missing," Tonks said, but her voice was harder, colder. "I'm Bellatrix Lestrange and you're Belicia Granger if we're asked. Do not follow Aaron Granger or Rodolphus Lestrange at all; we can't risk our "husbands" finding out we're masquerading."

"Yeah," Bennie assented.

"Huh. Never thought I'd be masquerading as my dear old auntie Bellatrix."

"Me, either," Bennie said grimly.

"Well…let's go."

Tonks took off running, Bennie tailing her.

* * *

"I should've known you'd throw our deal away."

Snape backed up against the stands, his wand held protectively against his chest, as Lucius strolled towards him, unmasked and grinning.

"For her. For that ugly tart, you gave up power and the purification of our race."

"And for your ugly tart, you took servitude and groveling like a house-elf. Your utter lack of self-respect has led you to battling me on a Quidditch field. _Corte piel_!"

Lucius let out a sharp cry as a deep, disgusting cut appeared on his forearm, right over the Dark Mark. Blood showed through the black cloak and trickled down the sleeve and across his hand.

"You, Severus, will sorely regret that."

Severus watched as Lucius's wand directed at him at him and prepared himself for defense. But to his shock, the wand instantly shot to the right.

To where Petunia was dueling barely five feet away.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

Lucius suddenly felt a body slam into his and knock him off balance. He skidded across the grass as the green light flew from his wand. The force of the blow cause the wand to jerk off target, and Petunia screamed with surprise as her opponent suddenly dropped dead.

Lucius clambered to his feet, panicked. He got to his feet, an icy fury shining from his gray eyes. He was startled to see a glare of greater magnitude, sent by coal-black eyes, directed straight at him, far more frightening than he could ever muster up.

"If you harm her," Snape said, a quiet and deadly tone ringing in his voice and every part of his body, "I will kill you."

"You will, will you?" Lucius drawled. "You're that devoted to her, are you? That's highly amusing, Severus."

"As is your face."

"That's highly childish, don't you think?"

"It works for me."

"Enough chatter." Lucius's face hardened suddenly. "I do believe we were dueling."

"As do I."

Lucius opened his mouth, raising his wand, but Snape was faster.

"_CORTE BRAZO_!!"

Lucius stopped mid-incantation, choking. Any color that was in his face drained out of it. Snape grimaced as he watched Lucius's wand arm slither out of his clock and collapse onto the ground, a bloody, lifeless mess of a limb, neatly severed as if cut by a master butcher.

Lucius did not make a sound though his face was a white as a wraith. Before Snape could move to destroy the wand he had grabbed it with his other hand and whispered "_Portus_."

He was gone in an instant, leaving his arm lying on the ground.

"Severus, McGonagall just…what is that thing?!" Petunia shrieked. She had just Petrified another opponent and turned to see him staring at Lucius's abandoned arm.

"I've struck a blow for you, Petunia," he murmured, not taking his eyes off the arm. "That was the arm that tortured you years ago."

Petunia looked slightly green as she saw the blood-stained appendage lying so still on the grass, but she fought back her nausea. "Severus, McGonagall says that we have to leave now! I have no idea where but we have to get as many people as we can inside the Great Hall to Floo out of here. Just…just grab whoever you can and run inside!"

Before he could stop her, she was running towards a group of D.A. members who were taking on two Death Eaters, unsheathing her wand. Casting his eyes around, he spotted more people on his side and hastened to do likewise.

* * *

"Get out of the way. Get out of the way, girl!"

Joan did not flinch as Voldemort spat the words at her.

"No."

"I have no qualms about killing you, you realize that, don't you?"

"You don't?" Joan sniffed. "Then go right ahead. Kill me."

His wand was directed straight at her forehead. A curse would have gone straight through her brain. But no words left his mouth, and no light emitted from the tip of his wand.

"You won't kill me," Joan said. "You can't. I'm the very last of any good you've ever had in your life, and even if you are the Dark Lord, you can't get rid of that." Joan pondered her words for a minute. "Even though I don't have the power to kill you, in a sense I'm stronger than you are."

"Out! Get out of the way!" Voldemort reached out with a cloaked arm and roughly shoved her aside. She maintained her grace even as she half-stumbled away from him.

"My Lord!" A Death Eater was running towards him, drawing the wand from it place. "Shall I kill the girl for you?"

Voldemort outstretched his arm, planted his palm on the Death Eater's chest, and thrust him backwards. He flew backwards at least 7 feet, skidding along the ground.

"You don't touch this girl," Voldemort hissed, in the frightening tone that he used to speak to Harry. "No one touches this girl."

Joan watched as Voldemort swept away. She knew that she held sway over him but that knowledge did not appear to make her happy. In fact, she grimaced as she watched him walk away, before pocketing her wand and running towards the entrance into Hogwarts.

* * *

Hermione watched the last remnants of the battle slowly pulled away. The D.A. and the Staff were maneuvering inconspicuously into Hogwarts one at a time, keeping the Death Eaters busy with duels as they retreated.

"You! You, Granger! And you, Applegate!"

Hermione was startled out of her observations as Snape rushed towards her, with the dirty and bloody Seamus, Anthony, Katie, Emmanuela and Terry trailing behind him. She quickly turned around and nearly jumped to see Marcie behind her. Emmanuela was quick to join Marcie's side.

"Don't stand there like imbeciles, get to the Great Hall!"

He swept past her with the D.A. member, Katie reaching for Hermione's robe to urge her along.

Marcie gave a short but terrified kind of gasp.

"What? What is it?!" Hermione yelped.

"It's Lynn!"

Hermione whipped around, finally noticing that Lynn, the first to fall, was still lying on the grass. She had hit the ground from a height of 50 feet with the Cruciatus Curse lingering inside her, though they didn't know it.

"Come on, Emmanuela," Marcie yelped, making a hand movement for the small girl to follow her.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"Getting Lynn!" Marcie yelled, sprinting from the hallway that led to the Quidditch field, quickly followed by Emmanuela.

"Wait! Wait! You can't just go tearing out there!" Hermione felt her legs pumping after them. "The Death Eaters…they might…"

Marcie had already skidded to a stop and knelt beside Lynn, Emmanuela following suite. Hermione was approaching them, nearly at them.

"_Stupefy_!"

Marcie, who had already taken hold of Lynn's body, jumped out of the way as the Stunning Spell flew past her. The Death Eater that Voldemort had so roughly brushed aside was off the ground, pointing his wand at the four girls.

"Ah, 'Mione, who are your little friends?" he asked, in a high, cold, laughing voice.

"Aaron," Hermione muttered, staring at him. She had taken a protective stance in front of the girls, her wand in hand.

"Now, is that any way to address your father, 'Mione?" Aaron said absently. "It's too bad your mother didn't have enough power to finish you off a few months ago."

"My mother is dead. You and Belicia are the misfortune I was born to. _Duele_!"

The Dolorous Curse. The forerunner of the Cruciatus Curse. Half as powerful but allowed more time for torturing the victim. A suitable curse for Aaron, Hermione reasoned. Her palm wrapped around her wand and shoved it a few more inches into the air as Aaron's sneering face began to contort in agony.

Marcie flinched as Hermione let out the spell, but she had not time to waste. Emmanuela was assisting her with handling Lynn's unconscious body until she was in an upright position. Marcie wrapped her arm around Lynn's waist and clasped her to her side.

"Emmanuela," Marcie suddenly whispered. "When I say "now", we hit this guy with whatever curse we can think of. Okay?"

"Right," Emmanuela answered.

Marcie and Emmanuela inched their way around Hermione. Aaron's face was white with pain from the Dolorous Curse, but as he watched the two of them sidestep away, he wrenched himself backwards, shocking Hermione so much that she inadvertently ended the curse.

"Oh, no, you don't!" he screeched, turning his wand at them.

"NOW!" Marcie shrieked.

"_Tarantallegra_!" Emmanuela screeched, as Marcie yelled, "_Furnunculus_!"

The two jinxes hit him one at a time, and instead of turning him into a slug, his legs went into an uncontrollable tap dance and his mask flew off, as boils just like Elizabeth's began to pop up and fester about his face.

"Go, go!" Hermione screamed at them. They didn't need telling twice. Lynn's head bobbing with the movement, Marcie and Emmanuela ran for Hogwarts.

Hermione was facing Aaron, death and rage on her face. He had cast the counter-jinx on himself while she had been shouting. His face was still covered in a moss-like mess but his legs were now straightened out and planted firmly on the ground.

He whipped his wand and pointed it at her. She did the same, with a symmetry rivaling a mirror's.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!!!!!!!" both of them shrieked at once.

A green wave passed over one of them…someone fell to the ground, the grass crunching beneath them…Harry from twenty feet away screamed out Hermione's name and ran for her.

Hermione dropped her wand. In front of her, as if frozen and knocked over, lay her biological father, his wand still pointed at the angle it had been when he tried to kill her. Her hands shook as she raised them to her head, gripping her hair.

"Hermione!" Harry managed to stop his sprint by grabbing her from behind and using her body as pole to swing around and face her. "Hermione, did you…?"

"I…I killed him, Harry. I killed Aaron Granger."

Her face was ashen, a porcelain white so unnatural that he feared that circulation had been irreversibly stopped. Quite suddenly, she slumped, and collapsed into Harry's arm in a dead faint.

* * *

Ron wiped sweat from his brow and let out a strip of gold light, matched by the purple light from Luna's wand. They had been fighting this Death Eater for 10 minutes and had seen no moment to escape or Petrify him.

And Luna seemed reluctant to curse this Death Eater, which Ron credited to either fear or forgetfulness of the spells.

"Luna, look alive!" he yelled, and then winced. The searing pain in his welts had been steadily rising throughout this battle.

"_Stupefy_!" the Death Eater yelled.

"_Protego_!" Ron shouted, and the curse bounced off him and shot sideways, past Luna, and disintegrated in mid air.

"_Vuelas_!" Luna half-shouted, half-whispered. The jinx ran up against him and made him jump back several feet, but he recovered easily and charged back to them.

Ron opened his mouth to jinx him but he was quicker.

"_Vuelas_!"

Using Luna's spell, he threw Ron backwards with much more force than Luna's had had. Ron hit the ground with a thud on his back and rolled over and over before stopping ten feet away.

Furiously, he jumped up, ready to shoot another spell, but what he saw stopped him.

The Death Eater had his arm wrapped as tightly as a boa constrictor across Luna's collar bone, holding her against him. His wand was held threateningly above her head.

"One more step. One spell and I swear, she won't live to tell about it."

"Ron!" Luna screeched. There was nothing that defined Luna Lovegood in her now, there was only the panic of a trapped animal. "Tell Dumbledore…you've got to tell him…"

As she spoke, blood began to pour from her temples. She shook her head furiously, trying to stop them from dripping into her eyes. "You've got to tell him…the Dark Side, gone to the Dark Side…" The blood flowed quicker and with more conviction than ever.

"Shut up!" The Death Eater screeched, taking his eyes off Ron to look down at her. "Shut up, idiot girl!"

Ron saw his chance. With a bellow loud enough to rival a wounded bear's, he let out, "_STUPEFY_!!!"

Both the Death Eater and Luna froze in place. They swayed and overbalanced, falling backwards and onto the grass.

Ron sprinted towards the frozen forms and knelt next to them. With all the strength he could muster, ignoring the pain left by the brains that was now surging through his entire body, he pried at the Death Eater's hand until he moved the leaden arm off of Luna's collar bone. She was limp in his arms. The blood had stopped coming but what was already there was slipping off her forehead. She was horribly reminiscent of how Ginny had been after the attack at Grimmauld Place.

"_Ennervate_," he whispered, tapping her with his wand. She stirred, and her eyes half-opened. She was barely hanging on to consciousness.

"I'll finish him off," Ron said. "Then I'll get you to Pomfrey."

"No," Luna said in an urgent whisper. "No, Ron, don't…don't kill him…"

"Luna!"

"Please, Ron, please…don't kill him."

Ron stared at her, her eyes drooping as if she was nodding off to sleep.

"…Please…"

"All right, I won't kill him," he promised, aggravated. He fixed her so her head was slung over his shoulder, draping her arms around his neck, her legs dangling. Luna's eyes shut as she leaned her head into his neck. Suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed for some reason he couldn't fathom, he wrapped one arm around her back and the other across her thighs.

Across the field he could see Harry doing much the same with Hermione. But Hermione weighed more than Luna, so Harry couldn't carry her like Ron. He had slung one of her arms around his shoulders and had another arm around her hips, exactly like how Marcie had carried Lynn.

"Harry!" Ron screamed. "Is Hermione…is she…did they kill her?"

"No!" Harry called back. "She's just unconscious! I'll explain later! We have to get inside now!"

Ron didn't need telling twice. As Luna's grip tightened around his neck, he charged towards Hogwarts.

From the corner of his eye, he saw what he knew to be Voldemort on the other side of the field. He nearly shouted to Harry but something stopped him. They would be fighting with two unconscious or semiconscious girls clinging to them. From Harry's face, Ron could tell that Harry was also aware of Voldemort's presence and was incensed that he could not fight him now. Ron's half-open mouth shut and he ran mutely after Harry and into the school, where Marcie and Emmanuela were standing with Lynn, waiting for them.

* * *

"Hurry up, hurry up," Gibson urged. He and Susan were making the last rounds around Hogwarts, herding the few stragglers in the hallways. In the panic, they and the others had not remembered there were other students besides those outside until Elizabeth had brought a group of non-sports fans into the Great Hall.

They looked up as they heard running footsteps, and Susan let out a sort of terrified gasp as Marcie, Emmanuela, Ron, and Harry came at them, carrying the three girls.

"What happened to them?!" Susan yelped, staring, horrified, at Hermione. She and Hermione had been close since second year.

"They're just unconscious, they're not dead," Ron said, breathless from running even though Luna felt feather-light in his arms. "Luna's half-awake, some Death Eater did something to her…"

"No time, no time," Gibson said, going to Marcie and taking one of Lynn's arms to put around his own shoulders. He took off with Marcie, trailed by Susan, Harry with Hermione, Ron with Luna, Emmanuela, and the few students they had managed to round up.

"Hey!" Ernie called. He and Hannah were fast approaching. "We let all the owls out of the owlery!"

"What about the other animals?" Marcie asked frantically, thinking of her silver tabby, Beth.

"We think the students got them all, at least in the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw houses," Hannah said, gasping for breath. "We're not sure, though." She caught sight of Hermione, Luna, and Lynn. "What happen…"

"Hannah, there's not time, let's go," Ernie said hurriedly, catching her by the wrist.

Gibson and Marcie started running again, followed by the others, down the hallway and into the Great Hall.

* * *

They entered the Hall. Surprisingly, it was nearly empty. The entire D.A. and most of the staff were there, along with a few students and some animals.

"We sent most of the students home already," Colin explained, as the group approached him. "God, Harry, are the girls okay?!"

"They're fine, they just need Pomfrey," Harry said hurriedly.

"Colin, did Ginny go out on the Quidditch field?!" Ron asked, sliding Luna over so he could look at his baby sister's boyfriend. "Answer me!" He snatched at the front of Colin's robes.

"No!" Colin gasped, startled. "She wanted to, but Professor McGonagall made her Floo somewhere. I don't know where."

"Ron, stop shaking the poor kid!" Dean yelled from not far away. He was holding a bowl of Floo Powder and guiding along what looked like a 2nd-year Gryffindor. The girl grabbed a handful, shouted out her home address, and disappeared in a flash of green light. At another fire not far away, Neville and Tony were doing the same for a 4th-year Slytherin boy.

"ATTENTION."

The entire room jumped when McGonagall's voice echoed off the stone walls.

"WHEN THE DEFENSE ASSOCIATION IS FINISHED ASSISTING NON-MEMBERS TO THEIR HOMES, PLEASE ASSEMBLE AT THE NEAREST FIRE AND FLOO TO NUMBER 8, FREIMON AVENUE. I REPEAT, NUMBER 8, FREIMON AVENUE."

Soft meows took Harry's attention from McGonagall. Marcie had deposited Lynn totally onto Gibson and now, slung over each shoulder, were two cats. One was her own. The other was Crookshanks. Harry thought wildly for a moment that Hermione would never forgive them if they left Crookshanks behind.

Corinne helped the last student into the fire.

"ALL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION MEMBERS, PLEASE FLOO TO NUMBER 8, FREIMON AVENUE, NOW."

Wild thoughts passed through Harry's mind. He couldn't see where Bennie or Tonks were, nor Remus, and he knew Voldemort was still on the field with the dead body of Aaron Granger lying Petrified on the grass. But as these thoughts passed through his brain he moved mechanically towards a fireplace. He grabbed a handful of powder thinking that this was dangerous, but his Invisibility Cloak was still upstairs. While he mentally cursed his bad luck, he threw down the powder, and in a burst of green flame he was whisked through the fireplace, Hermione still held to him.

He hit the ground in another fireplace, hearing Ginny's shriek. She ran towards him, yelling something about Hermione being okay, but the soot had clouded up his glasses and ears, and he could neither see nor understand Ginny.

Someone took Hermione and pulled her away from him. With a startled cry he reached after her, but someone had taken his arm and was pulling him upright.

"Come on, don't block up the fireplace, there's more of you coming, Ja—Harry," a female voice said. "Good God, I almost called you "James"."

Harry frantically wiped the soot from his glasses and stared through the smeared lenses at the woman who was holding his arm. She was taller than him, with large black eyes, long, thick black hair, and a heart-shaped face reminiscent of Tonks.

"Andromeda?" he asked stupidly.

"That's me, Harry, now come on, go up those stairs. My husband and the elves will set you up."

"Hermione…"

"Is that the girl you came with? Ginny and my elf Timmory are taking care of her. Go on, I can hear another one coming."

Dazedly, Harry saw the steps she meant, and with legs that were finally shaking from all that he had done today, he slowly climbed the steps to the next floor of the house.


	15. Truth In Refuge

Disclaimer-This is the 15th chapter, and you still don't know that HP belongs to the great JKR? I pity your family

A/N: This is mostly filler, BECAUSE I LOVE FILLER, but there is a VERY important plot bunny that will affect the rest of the story. Oh, and lots of romance, too. On that note, I'll warn you that there will be an implied male/male pairing between Neville and an OC. If that bothers you, there's a Back Arrow at the top of your screen. Click it.

* * *

Truth In Refuge

* * *

Harry finally sat down. A man he knew from the photograph to be Ted Tonks, with a dozen squeaking house-elves, had cleaned him up and repaired his glasses, which he hadn't even noticed were cracked on the nosepiece from landing so ungracefully in the fireplace.

And now he was sinking into a cool, bouncy armchair, watching as Ted and the elves cleaned up the D.A. members who had not been seriously injured. Harry was thankful to see that not many of them had been so. Most of them said "Hi" to him as they passed to rooms that Ted directed them to go into.

Ron had come after him successively. There was nothing wrong with him except he was covered in soot from the fireplace, and as soon as he had been scrubbed in the face with a wet towel, he had taken the armchair next to Harry.

After awhile, the D.A. members came with less frequency, and finally, Andromeda yelled up the stairs that there were no more coming, and that Ted should ask Jiji and Keely to put on a pot of tea.

Ted nodded his assent, and after he left the room, bellowing the names of his two kitchen elves, Andromeda came stomping up the stairs.

"What happened to Hermione?" Harry asked as he first caught sight of Andromeda's heart-shaped face, the face that a non-transformed Tonks had inherited.

"Yeah, and where's she and Luna? And why was Ginny already here?" Ron added.

"Relax, boys," Andromeda said, smiling at them. She sat down on the sofa. "All of the injured are being taken care of. And Ginny was here before any of you. When the school was attacked, Professor McGonagall—jeez, I still call her "Professor"—sent her to warn me that you would be coming. My house is one of the refugee houses. So's your house, Ron."

"The Burrow? MY house is a refugee house?" Ron exclaimed.

"Only since recently," Andromeda said. "When the 1st War started, your parents were still at Hogwarts. They didn't get the house until mid-1980, about a month before Bill was born."

"And you know all this…how?" Ron questioned.

"Oh, yeah, it appears only Harry and Ginny know who I am." She got up and walked to Ron, extending her arm so the back of her hand faced him. "I'm Andromeda Tonks, born Andromeda Black."

Ron stared at her hand, then at her smiling face. Awkwardly, he took her fingertips and kissed the back of her hand. "Ch-charmed, I'm sure."

Andromeda smiled even more brightly and gave a little chuckle. "Whenever a family we hadn't known before visited us, my father always did that to the ladies. I thought it was beautiful. Sirius thought it was hysterical."

A subtle tension fell on the room as she said her cousin's name. She seemed aware of it, and the tone of her smile changed though it did not fade.

She sank back into the sofa and drew a pillow to her chest. "I'm only about 7 months older than Sirius—I'm a late August baby and he was an early April baby—and we were much closer to each other than I was with my sisters and he was with his brother. Narcissa and Regulus were simpletons who couldn't help believing all of this pureblood nonsense, and Bellatrix, I think, agreed with it from the moment she was christened a Black. So when I ran off with my Muggle-born Ted, it caused quite a stir. All I can say is that I'm glad I pulled out all my money from Gringotts before the family could get to it."

She laughed a laugh that was both mocking and bitter. "We were nearly a year out of Hogwarts when Ted and I got married, and my father refused to walk me down the aisle. I wasn't surprised but I was very upset. So I asked Sirius to do it."

She paused, and then pressed on again. "That's why I couldn't—I never believed that he would've betrayed Lily and James and then kill all those people. Sirius was not a murderer. He was not a traitor. He participated in TWO mixed-blood weddings, mine and the Potter's, and he was godfather to TWO mixed-blood children. That's you, Harry, and my Nymphadora."

A house-elf approached her, bearing a tea tray. She took a teacup, thanked the elf, and then directed her towards Harry and Ron, who took the tea but did not drink it.

"We did try visiting him in Azkaban, but since he was so "dangerous" a prisoner we were only allowed Christmas visits every other year. My Nymphadora has known how to produce a Patronus since she was about 11 years old. That's how old she was when she first visited Azkaban. She was almost 9 when the murders—when he was imprisoned."

She looked at Harry and Ron and smiled. "My Nymphadora loved you two as babies, and at Hogwarts she was best friends with Bill. They were born the same year, you know."

Harry nodded, but Ron looked confused.

"Bill never said anything," Ron added.

"I guess because he used to have a crush on Nymphadora but she really didn't return the feeling," Andromeda said.

"How come I've never met you? I mean, when I was old enough to remember you?" Ron asked.

Andromeda sighed. "I guess mainly because I didn't believe Sirius had done it, and almost everyone else did. He would always come up as a subject when we got together and we would fight, fight, fight over it. We finally decided not to see each other anymore but we wrote back and forth for years until we just…fell out. I really…regret that now…"

She was silent for a moment, then cleared her throat.

"Anyway, what's done is done, and it's not like we can't ever be friends again. And I think it's time we all ate something. It's getting on in the evening. I'll ask Jiji and Keely to start making dinner."

"I'll go downstairs and see if anyone wants dinner," Ron offered.

"Thanks."

Ron walked past Andromeda and disappeared down the flight of stairs. Andromeda stood up and went for the door.

"Wait, Mrs. Tonks," Harry said

"Call me "Andromeda", Harry. And what is it?"

"Did you know my dad really well?"

"Yes, and your mum, too. Why?"

Harry thought of Snape's Penseive from his Occlumency lessons so many months ago. "What was he like?"

"He was human," Andromeda said, as though reading Harry's mind. "He was a wonderful student and an even better friend, and he was also a prankster and he did pick on Severus Snape a lot. The thing was, Harry, Severus was one of my relatives' "preferred playmates" for us. And you know how much Sirius hated everything to do with our parents, so he had no love for Severus. James was loyal to his mates, especially Sirius, so he took up the feud, too. But don't think it was one-sided, Harry. Severus was a lot like Narcissa and Regulus before he was 16, when he got that girlfriend. After that, I think they kept fighting just to keep up the pretense. It drove the prefects crazy; the lot of them hexing each other in the hallways. It bothered your mum in particular."

"Why did she marry him?"

"Because he changed, Harry. He grew up. He stopped being the instigator. It was at my wedding, actually, that they began dating. But what really made her see him as a possible husband was the very 1st battle of the war."

"Why then?"

"Well, the whole thing really started long before then. Voldemort—no, I'm not afraid to say the name, that's stupid—had been picking up followers all through the late 70's. There were no real battles but some horrific murders. The Ministry was looking for someone to blame and they picked werewolves."

"Werewolves?"

"Yes. They let it out that werewolves were rebelling and despite numerous testimonies and evidence to the contrary, they decided to pack up all the werewolves and ship them off to live in some concentration camp in Salazar's Pit. You know, that wasteland between the Rowena Mountains? And they took Remus, too."

She sighed. "Well, they had packed them all on the train and they were about halfway there when the real Death Eaters attacked under the pretense of setting the werewolves free. Most of them—not Remus, thank God—agreed to join the Death Eaters. They retrieved their wands from the train conductors and they took the battle into a city."

She paused again. "Well, when Hogwarts heard that, James, Sirius, Lily, and Marlene McKinnon, who was Remus's girlfriend at the time, took off to fight. It was a horrible, horrible battle, Harry. I was pregnant at the time and when I saw the damage I nearly miscarried from shock. And the city it was in was where James's family lived."

"My dad's family?"

"Yes, your grandparents, Timothy and Gloria, your great-grandmother, Miranda, and your aunts Belinda, Jennifer, and Rowena. They…they were all killed that day."

She turned away, covering her mouth, but her words weren't garbled. "Your mum and dad found them. Only Rowena was still alive, and just barely. She was out in the backyard. James…he sat on the grass and he held her and he talked to her to take her mind off the fact that she was going to die in a few minutes." She paused. "And then Lily knew who he really was, watching him rock his 10-year-old sister until Jesus rocked her instead."

Andromeda hastily swiped at her eyes to halt coming tears. "Anyway, Harry, your parents were very much in love. Lily never regretted marrying him, if that's what you're thinking. They belonged together, just as Ted and I belong together, and just as my Nymphadora and Remus will belong together one day soon."

She took one last swipe at her face. "Look at me, I'm getting all emotional. It's all this talk of dead people. I'd better make sure that dinner gets started before I really start bawling."

She turned and left through the door that the other D.A. members had left through, leaving Harry sitting in the armchair, reliving the aftermath of a battle he had never seen but had played a role in his even being born.

* * *

"Hey, Gin, do you know where all the wounded are?"

"Do you want to see Hermione or Luna?" Ginny asked, keeping the coyness in her voice to a minimum but still letting it eke out. She was in a chair in the small room they had landed in, leaning over a piece of paper, writing something.

"Why do you want to know?" Ron shot back.

"Well, you're in luck, they're in the same room, it's right through that door there, and you're in more luck, Pomfrey just finished checking them over and she went over to check on the other rooms. It's just the two of them in the same room, and Hermione's still unconscious, so you and Luna will have privacy."

"Who said I wanted to see Luna?"

"Who's dumb enough to fall for that?" Ginny retorted. "Now, go on, I'm working on this study guide."

"Study guide?"

"Even if we don't go back to school, they'll still give us an organized test, and I want to pass 5th year." Ginny waved him away.

"Study guide, shmudy guide," Ron said. "You're killing time waiting for Colin, aren't you?"

"Is that your business? Go to Luna."

Ron made a face at her, which she returned, and then he walked off and into the room Ginny had identified.

As soon as he shut the door, he heard a quiet, strangled voice say, "Ron?"

"Luna? That you?" he questioned.

"Yes."

Tentatively, he approached the bed where he heard the voice coming from. There were two canopy beds in this relatively small room, each occupied by one of the girls, and the one closest the door held Luna. He stopped at the side of the bed at the area of her side.

"Hello." Luna pulled herself upright. Her head was wrapped in bandages that made her thin, pale face look yellow and jaundice-infected. "Quite a day I'm having, don't you think? At least, I'm conscious. You had the time to wake me up before Madam Pomfrey told you that you should've let me rest."

"You feeling okay?" He sat down on the side of the bed. She moved her legs to make room for him.

"About as well as I can be. Madam Pomfrey says there wasn't any skull damage, just bleeding, and of course, the spell damage from when you Stunned me."

"Sorry," he apologized quickly, "but he got distracted and I had to save you from him, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did, and now that I'm properly awake I can thank you." She turned a small but brilliant smile to him. "Thank you."

"Yeah…wasn't a problem."

"You know, you have been such a good friend towards me. I know last year that you were very put out by me. Because I'm strange and unusual, and tagged on to that, I know that I'm strange and unusual and won't do anything about it. That's the true test of friendship, Ron, to see someone for what's in their heart and not what they read or talk about or dress like."

In a flash her hand had enclosed around his wrist. He gave an involuntary twitch and felt his face redden, but Luna apparently did not notice, or noticed and pretended she didn't.

"So I just wanted to thank you, Ron, for being friends with _la soñadora_."

"You're welcome," he said uncomfortably, "and la what?"

"_Soñadora_. It's Spanish for "the dreamer". It's just an old song Mommy used to sing to me before she died. It translates into "I; the autumn. I; the evening star—well, literally, it translates to "Venus", anyway…I have been an echo. I shall be a wave. I shall be the moon. I have been everything; I'm me. I; the summer. I; the ebony. I am the dreamer."

"Sounds like you."

"Mommy was an Empath. She could read souls. She could tell what was in a person's heart."

"That's really cool."

"Yes…" Luna trailed off and looked away. Her hand left his wrist.

"Luna, when we were on the Quidditch field," Ron started. He had been thinking about this for a few minutes. "When that Death Eater had got you, you were screaming about "gone to the Dark Side". What did you mean by that?"

"That he was taking me to the Dark Side," she answered swiftly. "That I was going to be kidnapped."

"And, I have to ask this, why wouldn't you let me kill that Death Eater?"

"Because I did not want him to be killed. I told you earlier, I don't believe in violence per se. Defense, yes. Killing, no. I did not want you to become a killer. It is bad enough that Harry has to be a killer."

Ron thought about the prophecy that Harry had haltingly relayed to them in the weeks following the funeral, and grimaced. "I guess I see your point."

But he couldn't help noticing that Luna seemed a little white-faced and distracted during her explanation.

"Anyway, Luna," he said, shaking the thought from his head. "Do you want me to send down some food? They're making dinner now."

"Oh, good, I am rather hungry," Luna said. "Why not eat down here with me, if the Tonks don't mind? I think Hermione will be out for a while, but I'm not a bit tired."

"Yeah, and she'll want to see Harry first, anyway."

"They are very much attached, aren't they? I asked them about it, and they say things just happen. I think that's true. My mommy and daddy were two very different people, but they were very devoted to each other."

"Yeah, my mum and dad are too," Ron said, thinking. "They've been married since Christmas in '79."

"I think that's wonderful. Don't you?" Her hand was on his wrist again.

He did not twitch but his face went red again. "Y-yeah. Look, I'm gonna see how dinner's coming along."

"I'll count the bumps on the ceiling tiles until you come back."

"Luna, this is a canopy bed. You can't see the ceiling."

"I'll just have to imagine them."

Ron bit the inside of his cheek and stood up. Throwing a glance back at Luna, who was now leaning into her pillow, staring at the canopy spread across the bedposts, he left the room.

As he shut the door behind himself he jumped. A quick, darting pain had just shot through him.

* * *

Neville sat in a small room, accompanied by Mary and Tony. He and Tony had taken armchairs and Mary was stretched out on the couch.

"Did you guys get a chance to…to battle?" Neville asked.

Mary shook her head.

"We were inside," Tony explained. "I was gonna go watch the match but they got there before I could leave, and the teachers blocked the exits."

"Did you?" Marry asked.

"No." He looked wistful. "I really wanted to, though."

"Oh, yeah, that Bellatrix chick, um…"incapacitated" your parents, right?" Tony asked, attempting and half-succeeding at tact.

"Yeah," Neville said, staring away from Tony and Mary miserably.

"What a sod," Tony said firmly. He grabbed Neville's arm. "What a complete sod. Kill her the next chance you get."

Neville jumped at the hand on his arm. "Y-yeah, I'll try."

"Good." Tony retracted his arm.

"So, uh, do you have any vendetta against any Death Eaters?" Neville asked.

"Me? Nah. I was thinking about joining, and Marcie talked about how she wanted to join and how much it would help the world and she sorta helped convince me to join up. She's a little weird; she was talking about how "we can get true peace by defeating evil and showing humanity the horrible consequences of war" and some stuff."

"How about you, Mary?"

"I just think they're sods and should be wiped from the face of the planet," Mary answered promptly, shaking her head so her hair went behind her shoulders.

"You were one of the first members, right?" Tony asked.

"Yeah."

"And you went to the Ministry, right?"

"Like a prat, yeah," Neville said self-disparagingly. "I got a bloody nose and a Cruciatus Curse."

"I think that was pretty brave of you," Tony said admiringly.

"Yeah, well…thank you," Neville said shyly. He was not used to praise, except the occasional encouragement from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Most of the others, even people he counted as friends, even his grandmother, thought him to be slow and stupid.

"Mary, stop smiling," Tony suddenly ordered. Mary had a sly grin on her face, an "Aww, how cute" grin. "Look, I'm starving. I'm going to go see if dinner's ready. You wanna come, hon?"

"Nah," Marry said, flopping backwards.

"Who 'bout you, hon?" Tony addressed Neville.

"No thanks, I'm just going to stay here for awhile."

Tony's face flashed disappointment, but he waved amiably as he walked away.

Mary broke out in another grin, and this time, she giggled.

"What? What's so funny?" Neville asked, immediately running down the list of possible things he could've done to embarrass himself since he, Mary, and Tony had come to this room together. He could think of nothing, besides tripping over the threshold, and he didn't think Mary would still be thinking about that.

"You and Tony." She giggled some more.

"What about me and Tony?"

"Well, he was flirting with you, for one thing, and you were oblivious for another."

"He was FLIRTING with me?" Neville yelped.

"Pretty light flirting, but yep, flirting just the same."

"But-but…Tony's…he's a BLOKE."

"Are you that cut out from the world?" Mary looked indignant. "It happens. Tony's been that way since 3rd year. Guess you never knew, with him being Slytherin and all."

"So, Tony is…interested in me?"

"Well, duh. Oh, great, are you going to get all judgmental now? No wonder Tony only told the girls."

"Oh, no, I'm just…surprised."

"Surprised?"

"Well, yeah. I-I mean, not even a girl's shown any interest in me except for Ginny, but now she's dating someone, so that can't work out, and I had this thing for Hermione for a couple years but now she's with Harry so I guess that can't work out, either…" He trailed off, realizing that he was babbling. "It's just…weird."

"You'll have to deal with weird. I don't think Tony's going to back down. He likes you, Neville."

Neville did not answer. He looked at the wall, his thoughts becoming a violent whirlpool.

* * *

Petunia sat, wrapped in a blanket. This room was practically a closet compared to the house, especially since it was only her and Severus in it.

If the battle hadn't interrupted them, she wondered, what would she have told him?

_"I'm still in love with you."_

"Severus."

"Yes?" He turned his head to look at her.

"Before, just a few seconds before the battle you said…that you were still in love with me."

A flicker of some emotion she couldn't place crossed his face. Was it astonishment that she remembered? Regret that he had said it? She didn't know. Her insides were turning into a knot.

"Did you mean it?" she asked, her voice choking, feeling that her vocal cords were twisting. "Did you mean to say that the relationship we abandoned 24 years ago still means something to you?"

He turned his face away and remained silent for a long time. Petunia could practically see the blood racing through his veins. She felt her ears clog up and roughly massaged them open.

"Did you really mean it?" she whispered.

He turned to stare at her. His face was blank but his eyes…they were more alive than she had seen them at all since July. These were the eyes of the boy she knew at Hogwarts: young, vibrant eyes full of life and love.

"Yes. I did."

Her mouth dropped open. The truth had hit her entire body as if she was being pulled under by a wave, but suddenly she felt like the wave was receding, replaced by warm sunlight.

"Are you interested in starting back up again?" she asked.

"If you are, as well," he answered simply.

She had to smile. He had been just as bad at displaying his emotions in Hogwarts.

Hogwarts. How different would her life had been if she had never left? Would they be married and have children of their own? Would she have had son like Dudley, so like his father, Vernon?

Suddenly she gasped.

"What is it?" he asked, concern floating in and out of his words

Her entire face seemed to melt, and her eyes filled with tears. "Oh God, I'm such a tramp."

"What are you talking about?" He turned his whole body to face her.

"I've been widowed for a month! A bare month, with both my husband and son dead, and here I am talking about a new relationship. I'm a total tramp."

She saw something resembling fury pass through his face and he stood. He strode over to her, grabbed the armrests of the chair and bent over so his face was inches from hers.

"Don't you dare…" he breathed in a voice both menacing and comforting, "…call yourself a tramp. You put yourself on the same level as Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange and I won't stand for it. Do you understand, Petunia?"

Her face was wracked with surprise and anguish. "But-but…"

"No protests. I never want to hear you liken yourself to those former Black daughters. I repeat: Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," she said in barely a whisper. She could not read his thoughts, otherwise she would know that he was thinking of his battle with Lucius, the insults he had thrown at her name, the attempted murder, and the arm lying abandoned on the Quidditch field as the reparation for all Lucius had done to Petunia.

"Good." He straightened and returned to his seat.

He turned his back, but he spoke as clearly as if they were face-to-face. "I'm tired of hiding the fact that you and I were a couple, and pretending that it meant nothing. I will not ask you to turn your back on your dead family, now or ever. You decide when you're ready. I'm in no hurry."

He felt a presence walk across the room, figuring that someone had walked in or she was walking out, and he nearly jumped when two hands were on his shoulders and she laid her cheek against his scalp.

"That's what I always loved about you…how pushy you aren't."

She shut her eyes, allowing herself to cry. And he allowed her to cry, as well.

* * *

Joan had been lucky enough to get a room to herself, which she desperately needed right now.

She had never really expected to come face-to-face with Voldemort, but as a future Auror and member of the D.A., she was going to have to defend the others, and that meant seeing him.

Briefly, she wondered if she should tell anyone about this blood bond between her and Voldemort. The blood bond that saved her from ever becoming a target for Death Eaters or being killed by Voldemort. The blood bond that made her the ultimate shield.

The blood bond she was ashamed to have.

She could just imagine her conversation with the others:

"Yes, guess what, guy? Tom Sr. left Mitzie Slytherin for another woman and had Voldemort's half-brother Alexander. Yeah, they met at Hogwarts and he was the only good thing Voldemort had going for awhile. And then Alexander married my grandma and had my mother, and she married my dad. Meanwhile, Grandpa dies because some overzealous witch-hunters find out he's a wizard and they kill him, therefore fueling the already unstable Voldemort's tendency to commit genocide. Yep, I'm Voldemort's great-niece. Isn't that quaint?"

Even in her head, she could imagine the reaction. People would panic. They might view her as a freak, or in the best case scenario, another tool against him, to be discarded at the end of the battle.

She propped her chin up on her fist, her elbow on her knee, remembering. Her mother, christened Nora Riddle, had haltingly relayed the truth about her ancestry two years ago when she had come home for Easter break. That both Tom Jr. and Alexander had been abandoned by their father, who was not the most faithful of husbands. Alexander was two years Tom's junior and they were close-knit, bonding over the loss of a father. Tom was mentally unstable and took potion after potion to try and fix himself, but something had gone wrong and it had made him worse. Alexander had him on a long rein but at least some kind of a rein, until he had died at the hands of Muggles long before Joan's birth. His death, combined with all those potions somehow overtook any shred of sanity Tom had left and made him into Voldemort. To this day, only Nora Riddle-Sunset, and Joan herself, were protected from him.

She had heard from a hesitantly-talking Harry during one D.A. meeting that Voldemort knew nothing of love, and that was why he was able to survive his attack in the Ministry. That wasn't exactly true. Tom had known love. He still had some kind of love for his niece and her daughter. It wasn't a sane, rational, or wanted love, and it wasn't enough to stand up to Harry's kind of love. Indeed, this love had been born of hate: hate for his father, and hate for the Muggles who had killed his only kin. But it was some kind of love all the same.

But who wanted that kind of love from that kind of person?

She wouldn't tell anyone. The Slytherins knew. They made it their business to know everything. But the Slytherins did not deign to run through the halls shouting about it, and for once she was thankful to have been sorted into Slytherin. Had she been a Hufflepuff, the whole school would have known the second day she set foot in Hogwarts.

It was no one's business but hers and her parents', and she intended to keep it that way.

* * *

Elizabeth didn't know why Ted had sent her to the same room where the unconscious Lynn was resting. He couldn't possibly have known their feud over Draco.

Though Lynn probably did not feel so strongly for him now. Word spread fast in the D.A., and Draco had apparently used an Unforgivable on her when she tried to help him.

Why in the world did Lynn like him? He was not Lynn's type at all. Suave, sarcastic, and dangerous. All the things that attracted Elizabeth would be definite turn-offs to Lynn.

In a way, Elizabeth was a lot like him. She could talk down a sailor and catfight like drunken tramps in a club. God knew she had taken care of Pansy. She doubted her cousin would ever want to fight her again.

'I would've made a good Death Eater,' she mused carelessly, 'I fight dirty enough.' Not that it mattered much. Her own ancestry was too diverse, and she was too proud of it to ever want to join with people who were out to kill anyone they deemed unworthy. She had joined the D.A. to protect that pride in her ancestry, and she would despite the cost.

She looked over at Lynn. Why had Lynn joined? Probably for the same reason. She was half-and-half, which should have made her Elizabeth's, a Slytherin, sworn enemy. Well, they had been, for a different reason. Over Draco. Lynn had liked him first, and then Elizabeth, and now Lynn probably did not like him at all.

That DID make Elizabeth amazingly happy, but there were still some qualms in her. Something about Draco was definitely off. Not just the fact that he was most likely a Death Eater. Something was off in his body. The inconsistencies of showing up in the morning for breakfast. How he often broke out into sweats in cool rooms. His pale face even whiter than it was just last year. He was the color of bread that needed more time in the toaster and that set off a knot of worry in her stomach.

Elizabeth sighed, and shrugged. It did no good to worry. If there was something wrong with him, she'd know it eventually. She was confident on that.

She looked back at Lynn. She probably wasn't her rival anymore, and Elizabeth could probably like her. They'd been nice acquaintances through Marcie before Elizabeth fell for Draco, and their rivalry was concealed and contained very few fights or even arguments.

Elizabeth drummed her fingers against her chin. Maybe Lynn's injury was a good thing in the long run. She was free to get Draco and free to have a friendship with her. Whether or not Lynn found someone else was up to Lynn. The most pressing matters now where staying alive and finding out whatever Draco was hiding.

* * *

My inspiration for this chapter just died, so I'll continue along this vein in chapter 16, and we'll see more action in chapter 17.

Oh, and the Draco thing? I'm going to draw it out. I might decide to do "Reformed!Draco" but that won't happen any time soon.


	16. Greivances

Disclaimer-I don't own anything

EvanescoDarkness-I didn't even think of that! But I guess you could see it as such. And Forbidden Arts: Black Magic Potions will be a MAJOR plot bunny. Also, I'm glad you liked the Snape/Petunia. They're becoming one of my OTPs.

* * *

Grievances

* * *

"Well, it's time to go," Lucius suddenly said, standing up.

"Go?" Tonks blurted out, confused.

He sent her a funny look. "You two are strange today. We have a mission to storm Mungo's, remember?"

"Oh."

"We took some spell damage," Bennie interrupted as an explanation. "So we're a little disoriented. The brats know their stuff."

"You're slacking. You'd better shape up before the Dark Lord shapes you up."

"Don't tell me what to do, Lucius," Tonks said in a menacing tone that sent chills up Bennie's spine. "And I don't think you should be going, with that arm."

"Or lack thereof," Bennie added, the initial shock of Tonks's tone melting into inspiration.

He sent a withering glare at both of them. "My son will go in my place. He's a full Death Eater now."

"Aww, Daddy is so pwoud of his wittle boy," Tonks said. "Don't wowwy, we'll wook after him."

"Don't try my patience, Bellatrix."

"Respect your elders," Tonks shot back.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I never knew you to be proud of your great age."

"Keep it up, and you won't live to be my "great age"."

"Okay, are we going or not?" Bennie interrupted.

Lucius stared at her, and then smirked. "Well, as Bellatrix so kindly offered, I charge you both with the welfare of my son. Make sure he wreaks some havoc, won't you?"

"Of course, Lucius," Bennie said, false sugar in her voice.

"Bellatrix, do try and kill the Longbottoms this time, won't you?"

"You didn't even try to kill them, you disloyal wretch, so don't give me any snarky remarks, or I'll blow off your other arm, and your head for good measure," Tonks shot back.

"Temper, temper, Bella'."

"Bellatrix, I think it's time for us to go," Bennie said pointedly.

"Fetch Draco, won't you?" Tonks answered.

"He's over there," Lucius said carelessly, flicking his wrist in the direction of Draco.

Bennie abandoned her post and went off to Draco, who was sitting on a boulder, his fist propping up his chin.

"You're quite the doting father, aren't you, Lucius?" Tonks asked airily.

"Yes, I am, Bella', dear. Who better to leave him with than my sister-in-law, even if she is…questionable."

'I'm a lot more questionable than you think,' Tonks thought ironically. "Thanks for your sentiment. Death Eaters, move your butts!" she called.

Silently, the Death Eaters rose from their positions. Draco met Bennie halfway and he walked with her, not saying a word but smirking lightly.

"You're coming with Belicia and me, nephew mine," Tonks said as he approached.

"Whatever."

"Make sure, son, that you use your condition to the maximum," Lucius said. "Don't let those poor patients at Mungo's suffer too long…or do, whichever strikes your fancy."

Draco gave his father what Tonks thought was a painful smile. "Of course, Father."

"Good boy."

The Death Eaters were Apparating from the clearing one at a time. Tonks grabbed Draco's arm and nodded to Bennie. They began to walk away from the clearing and into the forests around them.

"We're taking a Portkey, since you can't Apparate yet," Tonks said.

"Really? I thought we were taking a Portkey just for larks," he answered smartly.

"Don't push your luck with me, boy," Tonks said. She grabbed onto a boulder. Her voice changed drastically, back to her own, normal voice. "Are we still in sight of Lucius, Bennie?"

A look of surprise flashed across Draco's face. "Wha…?"

"Nope," Bennie said, looking back. The Death Eater guise was falling from her. Her face regained its shape and color, and the heavy black cloak regained the shape of her cottony robes.

"Good. We're going to my mum and dad's." Tonks's disguise was melting away, too.

"What's going on here!?" Draco yelled. He reached for his wand, distrust and anger written on his face.

"Bennie, stun him!"

"_Petrificus Totalus_!"

Before Draco could move to curse Bennie, he was frozen in place.

"Thanks, Bennie. Here, hold on to him. I'm going to turn this into a Portkey. Ouch!" She had run her hand against a thorn. She pressured the wound with two fingers, and then wiped the blood off on the rock. "Bennie, grab my hand."

Bennie took hold of Tonks's hand, grabbing Draco's frozen arm with the other.

"_Portus_," Tonks said, and the rock glowed with an eerie blue light. "All right, here we go."

She pressed her hand on the rock, and suddenly all three of them were jerked into the Portkey.

* * *

Andromeda gave a startled scream as three bodies, two females and one male, two conscious and one frozen, suddenly appeared in her kitchen. She dropped the knife she had been cutting vegetables with, which earned her several frightened squeals from the kitchen-elves as it ran point-end into the floor.

"Mum, it's just me!" Tonks yelped, also jumping to avoid the knife. "Me and Bennie, and we brought Draco with us!"

"Oh, thank God!" Andromeda flung her arm around her daughter and hugged her. "If it were anyone else…wait. You brought DRACO?!"

"Yeah, but he's frozen," Bennie interrupted.

Andromeda sighed. "We'll just have to put him somewhere…so, Nymphadora, what did you find out?"

"We have to go. Now. They're storming St. Mungo's!"

"What? Why would they possibly…oh my God, Frank and Alice. Dear God…All right, we have to round up everyone. Direct them into the den, okay?"

"Sure."

"Bennie, you go with her. I'll take Draco to a room and secure him."

"Yes, ma'am," Bennie said.

"It's "Andromeda"," was the reply, but Tonks was already pulling Bennie away.

Andromeda looked at the frozen form of Draco, who had no likeness to her but, had he been female, was the duplication of his mother. She saw Narcissa's sharp, tiny face and facial features on her nephew, whom she had only known by name and never by face.

She gave an involuntary sigh, remembering that she had loved Narcissa openly in their youth, and secretly and painfully once Narcissa announced that she had sided with Voldemort to the family. How could she hate her baby sister?

"Mistress, is you okay?" Jiji squeaked.

"I'm fine, Jiji," Andromeda said. "Will you keep working on dinner for us?"

"Yes, Mistress."

She took hold of her nephew's arm. A fleeting image of the time she had dragged a 3-year-old Narcissa from a garter snake flashed through her mind. But that Narcissa belonged to another world. Resolutely, she clamped her lips together. She touched the table, created a Portkey, and teleported them both away from the kitchen.

* * *

"All right."

Tonks was looking into the faces of the DA members, barring Lynn, Hermione, Luna, and Amy, along with most of the Order, the exceptions being Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid. They had gone to collect Bellatrix and a few other Death Eaters who were stunned on the field, the dead body of Aaron, and Belicia if she had not broken out.

"Bennie and I discovered that the Death Eaters are going to attack St. Mungo's."

Neville suddenly gave a shudder, fear flashing across his face. Tony's hand reached out and gripped Neville's arm.

"I know that you have now seen a battle, and I have to warn you that our previous battle was no where near as bad as it could get. I also know that most of your parents do not want you to be here, even if they understand that it's dangerous to send you home now that You-Know-Who has you in his black book. So I'm not going to force you into this battle. If you can't handle it, speak now."

No one moved or spoke. Corrine was rolling her eyes.

"Good. Well, onto business. As always, DA or not, you are underage and therefore the very last line of defense. Even Mungo's patients must fight before you. So, no acting the hero, understood? You only attack if attacked, are we clear?"

There were several simultaneous nods. Tonks purposely ignored the look Harry was sending her. He HAD to be the hero. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He knew it, she knew it, he knew she knew it, and they both knew that it did no good to talk about it in front of people who were still close to being strangers.

"And I want to pair you off into groups. Stay exactly where I tell you to."

She moved into the mass, and after several minutes, had divided them into 7 groups of 5 people each.

"In St. Mungo's, if one of you fall, another comrade will take them back here. So bring an extra handful of Floo Powder with you. The people left behind will stick together, and latch onto another group if they find them. We're clear, yes?"

"Yes," was the chorus of assent.

"Good." Tonks turned to Hestia and Emmeline. "Will you two please inform Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid about where we're going?"

"Of course," Emmeline said. She took hold of Hestia's hand, and they Disapparated into thin air.

Tonks went to the fireplace and picked up a bowl of Floo Powder. She drew in a shuddery breath. Remus went forward and placed a hand on her back. With that one simple gesture color returned to her features and she smiled, albeit it was a rueful smile.

"This is it, people."

She shoved a handful of powder in her pocket, scooped up another, and threw it down, yelling out "St. Mungo's!" as she did, and was swept away by a green flame. Group by group, the DA and the Order followed her.

* * *

Dean stumbled from the fireplace and into a waiting room. They had wound up at different fires and he had found himself in an almost literal slaughterhouse. As he rolled out of the fireplace his face was first splattered with blood, and his ears assaulted with a piercing screech signifying the mortality of man.

He yanked out his wand, but as his opened his mouth to shout out a jinx he was suddenly knocked over with the force of a stocky body with much more power than his.

"Seamus, get off me!" he howled.

Seamus moved, not by his own volition but because Terry Boot had rammed into him. But it did its work, and Dean jumped up just before Anita appeared, followed by Gibson.

The exchange had not gone unnoticed by the Death Eater. He stared at them, amusement on his face behind his mask.

"So the great and noble Dumbledore sends wenches and brats to do his fighting for him," he mused softly.

"So the great and noble Voldemort sends morons to do his fighting for him," Gibson shot back, covering up a flinch as the name escaped his mouth.

The Death Eater started in anger, but drifted back into his relaxed stance. "You've got guts, I'll give you berks that," he said amusedly. "I wonder how very long you'd be able to withstand some curses from Voldemort's "moron"."

His eyes darted around at the five people arrayed in front of him, all in varying states of soot-covered, half-frightened and half-determined. His eyes rested on Dean, and they narrowed. There was something familiar about this boy. He was sure that he had seen his likeness before somewhere, at least several years ago.

"Allow this "moron" some fun in his idiocy. _Stupefy_!"

A red stream of light flew from his wand, aiming due Terry's head.

But Anita was quicker. She sprinted forward and grabbed Terry by the back, forcing him to bend, and the spell went right over his head. She pulled him away from the spot as the curse went through a wall and left a smoldering hole.

The Death Eater turned and glared at Anita, who had let go of Terry and stared at him. He raised his wand and made to utter a curse, but Anita was quicker. As the red light shot from his wand she jumped backwards, falling on her backside and skidding along the floor.

But as she moved her wand to cast a spell on him, he made his own move. The others had let their guards down while watching her, and their wands were unprepared.

"_Accio_ boy!" the Death Eater bellowed, and Dean was involuntarily wrenched forward. He yelped as the Death Eater's hand closed in around his throat and a long, black wand was shoved between his eyes. He was feeling himself slowly suffocate.

"Let him go!" Seamus screeched.

Behind the mask, the Death Eater grinned. He thought he recognized this boy from long ago, but from the source.

"You're Gary Thomas's brat, aren't you?"

Dean stopped struggling from shock. Not even his mother spoke often of his father, deceased before he ever knew that Dean had been conceived, and this Death Eater was talking about him like he and his father were old chums.

"Yes, he put up a good fight, too. But alas, like so many others, he fell to us. To my wand, to be exact. Well, this is ironic, isn't it? He took on several minutes of the Cruciatus Curse before I killed him. Sodding fool, he should've joined us."

"He wouldn't have joined you for all the money in Gringotts'!" Dean wheezed out, the lack of oxygen not preventing the look of complete loathing in his face.

"Pride in your family. My Master likes that."

"_Corté_!"

The Death Eater made a sharp sound as the skin on his wrist suddenly burst open in a vertical line, blood spurting from the wound. His hold loosened, air came rushing back to Dean, and he threw himself away. He landed on the floor on his back, scraping his head, gasping for breath.

Seamus ran to him, blocking his view of the Death Eater, his wand still brandished for the offense.

"Thanks, mate," he managed to wheeze.

"Hey, Parvati'd kill me if something happened to you," Seamus answered, like a true testosterone-filled guy.

"_Silencio_!"

Seamus's mouth opened, but only a rush of air came out. His eyes flew open as he tried to force words, only able to wheeze out short pants of breath.

"So now it's four against one," the Death Eater mused. "I might as well just kill the liability. _Avada_…"

"_Stupefy_!" Anita yelled.

His mouth slacked, and they could tell that his hidden eyes had dulled. He stumbled a little against the wall; his mind a clean slate.

But Terry, Anita, and Gibson didn't concentrate on that. Dean and Seamus had seized up. Their eyes were open but the pupils were in the back of their heads. Dean's supporting arm slipped and he crashed to the floor as Seamus crumpled as well.

Anita ran to them, followed by Gibson and then Terry. Gibson knelt down beside them as the others stood over.

"What's the matter with them?" Terry asked.

"The incantation wasn't done!" Anita added.

"It was half-finished and at point-blank range," Gibson said. "It must've had SOME affect on them. We should get them back to the Tonks'."

Terry knelt down and hoisted Seamus up, while Gibson lifted Dean from the floor. Gibson dug out some Floo Powder.

"We'll Floo back in a minute. Don't wander off," Gibson said. Anita nodded.

"Number 8, Freimon Avenue!" Terry shouted, as Gibson threw down the powder.

A few moments later they reappeared, wiping soot and dust off themselves.

"Are they okay?" Anita asked.

"Yeah, Andy was right there waiting for us," Gibson said. "She took them."

"Down to three," Terry said. "Let's try to find someone else's group."

"What about him?" Anita asked, gesturing to the Stunned Death Eater.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" Gibson said, and the Death Eater froze up.

"We'll have to leave him here, " Terry said. "Let someone pick him up later. He's deadweight."

Taking one last look at their frozen enemy, they ran from the room.

* * *

Parvati jogged evenly down the hallway. She and Lavender headed their group, otherwise consisting of Padma, Anthony, and the fourth-year, Anais. No Death Eater had yet besieged them, but Parvati could see that they were waiting for it. Anthony's hand was firmly attached to Padma's. It made Parvati's stomach twist. She wished Dean had been sorted into her group, but they had been standing apart when Tonks had separated the DA. 

Lavender grabbed her arm and smiled uncertainly. She and Seamus were also apart, and she just had a horrible feeling that something was wrong…

All five were jerked out of their thoughts by a scream, resounded by a baby's anguished cry. They veered off course, each trying to mentally prepare themselves, and burst in through a door.

A cowering woman knelt on the floor, screaming. A man, presumably her husband, was pressed against the wall, a wand at his throat. A small baby girl lay wailing in a plastic crib.

"_Vuelas_!" Anais cried, jutting her wand into the air. The Death Eater and the man both blew backwards and into the far wall. The husband cracked his head against the wall, fell and lay still, the back of his head bleeding. The woman screamed even louder, though it was uncertain whether it was because of her husband, or because the unharmed Death Eater had fallen from the wall and landed across her lap.

He rolled over and stood quickly, facing the five teenagers who stood to oppose him.

"_Imperio_!" he bellowed, pointing his wand at Padma.

For an instant, Padma felt a calm white light washing over her and clearing her mind, but in an instant it was gone. All of a sudden she felt how powerful she was. She was trained, she minded. She was prepared.

He couldn't hurt her with the Imperius Curse.

Anthony laughed as Padma shook her head and the dreamy emptiness of her eyes vanished. A soft but audible gasp came from the Death Eater, and suddenly Padma burst into giggles.

"Shut your face, you wench!" he snarled. He brandished his wand. Parvati moved to do the same. Her mouth opened, but before she could utter a curse…

"_Engorgio Semper_!"

Parvati shrieked and dropped her wand. Her left hand was swelling like an amplified blister, turning a purple-red color. Had it been any other circumstance, it would've been hilarious, but now…

"_Reducio_!" Lavender yelled. A small stream of light emitted from her wand and struck Parvati's hand, but it merely bounced off and her hand continued in its quickening expansion. "_Reducio_! _REDUCIO_!!"

The Death Eater barked out a laugh; a loud, mocking belly laugh. Parvati dropped to her knees, holding her wrist, making small whimpering noises.

"Well, that was fun, but now I have some work to do. _Cru_…"

The woman shrieked again as suddenly her husband leapt on the Death Eater, pinning him to the ground. The man had his hands around the Death Eater's throat, trying to squeeze the breath from him.

He groaned loudly as a knee connected with his stomach and he was shoved away. The Death Eater rolled over and shot up into a sitting position.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

The last scream, the most frightened and gut-wrenching of all, blasted from the woman's mouth as her husband suddenly slumped over, his eyes still wide-open.

Muttering swear words, the Death Eater leapt to his feet, facing the plastic crib where the baby lay wailing.

"I'm gonna shut this thing up once and for all! _Av_…"

"_RELASHIO_!"

The Death Eater roared as suddenly Anais's wand was thrust into his eye slits, setting off a dozen each of red and gold sparklers. He stumbled backwards, covering his masked face with his hands.

Suddenly, the woman jumped up from the floor, springing onto the blinded Death Eater. He howled as she knocked him to the floor, pinning him down with her hand on his throat. With a free hand she wrenched his wand from his hand. She turned over so she was lying on her back vertically down his chest, holding the wand above her, pointed down. Her voice was deadly calm.

"_Avada Kedavra_."

The pair of them were suddenly engulfed in bright green light. It flashed and faded, showing the two bodies exactly how they were. As the woman rolled off the Death Eater's chest and across the floor to her husband's body, the baby's wails seemed to be louder than they ever were.

Anais turned to the crib and reached in, gently pulling the baby in her pink blanket out. She settled her in her arms and ran back to the others. Lavender, Padma, and Anthony were surrounding the kneeling Parvati, who was now sobbing soundlessly.

"It…it won't stop swelling," Padma whispered, for once at a loss for words, staring at her sister's grotesque hand.

Anais deposited the baby into Lavender's arms and touched Parvati's arm with her wand. "_Ferula_."

All at once, clean white bandages wrapped around Parvati's hand. The swelling terminated, but her hand did not recede in size, or, as evident by her face, in pain.

"Lavender, why don't you take her back to the Tonks' house?" Anais suggested. "And the baby, too."

Lavender nodded, her face white as a sheet. She grabbed Parvati's unblemished arm and pulled her up, the baby held in the crook of her elbow. Parvati seemed ready to pass out from the pain, but she stood up, grimacing horribly. Lavender glanced back at all of them, and then ran out the door, bearing Parvati along with her. The baby's cries softened as the distance grew larger, and as Lavender threw down the Floo Powder and whisked the three of them away, they stopped completely.

Anthony stared at the three dead bodies in the room. With a steady wand but a shaking voice he said, "_Mobiliarbus_." The clean white sheets from the hospital bed floated towards the bodies of the husband and wife.

"_Decido_."

The sheets dropped onto the bodies, covering them neatly. His hand trembled violently, and he shoved his wand into his pocket. Padma gripped his hand.

Anais turned and quickly walked from the room, her face arrayed in such a way that indicated oncoming vomiting. Presently, Padma and Anthony walked out after her.

* * *

Neville panted as he raced up the stairs, trailed by Elizabeth, Mary, Joan, and Tony. A blinding urge coursed through him to get to the 4th Floor. His parents were up there, he knew, his parents who were unable to defend themselves, with people unable to defend them.

Tony watched Neville intently. Neville had captured his attention since 4th year, when Tony had seen him dancing with Ginny at the Yule Ball. Tony had first been attracted by his folksy, good-boy looks, and upon further observation, learned of his endearing kindness and open-heartedness.

But the Neville was different. This Neville gave off a radiating heat that spoke of a fierce warrior beneath Neville's clumsiness. This Neville, however, did not put Tony off; rather, it attracted him more.

"Watch out," Elizabeth muttered, and Tony just barely dodged an uneven step. Mary suppressed giggles. With the world falling about their ankles, it was a tonic to see such antics due to crushes.

Neville wasn't aware of Mary's giggle or Tony's admiration. He was only aware of his mental mantra. 'Get to Mum and Dad, get to Mum and Dad…'

He flung open a door to the 4th Floor and, without hesitating, ran for the permanent patients ward. Running like a wounded animal; he barely managed to stop himself at the ward door.

"_Alohomora_!" he shouted at the doorknob, and as the lock clicked open he ran in, not even waiting for the other four.

But he finally stopped at the sight before him.

Alice Longbottom was screaming incoherent gibberish in a horrible screeching voice. The dog-woman was barking like a rabid canine. Another woman with black hair and blue eyes—one they didn't recognize as Oleta Dumbledore—was crouching in a corner, whimpering. And sprawled on the ground, spread-eagled on his back, was Frank Longbottom.

Neville was barely aware of the moan-cry that escaped his lips, but Tony, Elizabeth, Joan, and Mary all yelped in surprise when Neville ran at the Death Eater standing over his father's body. All knowledge of magic left his mind; he knew only that he must avenge Frank, he must kill this Death Eater.

His hand seized the Death Eater's throat as they fell to the ground. His other hand flung away his wand, formed into a rock-hard fist, and smashed into the Death Eater's face.

Mary squeaked as the mask shattered into pieces and flew across the room, bearing traces of blood, and Neville did not cease in his attack. She ran forward and scooped up Neville's wand.

"Tony!" she yelled.

Tony had been watching Neville's ruthless attack with a look of both shock and awe, but Mary's yell snapped him from his trance. His legs pumping, he unsheathed his wand and shouted, "_Immobulous_!"

But the Death Eater was one step ahead of them. The moment the words escaped Tony's lips he seized control of himself and managed to throw Neville into the air. Blue light washed over Neville and he was suspended in mid-air.

The Death Eater rolled out from underneath Neville and straightened up. He wiped the blood away with his fingers. Neville had gotten in some clean hits; the Death Eater's nose was off-angle and his eye was already turning a purplish-black. He stared at the blood on his hands, and then slowly licked it away.

A shiver passed over the group. It was one thing to hear about drinking blood and another to see it, especially when the Death Eater so callously grinned at them.

"Thank you, boy, for so kindly stopping my offender in his tracks. Think I'll just kill him off now…"

"_Petrificus Totalus_!!" Tony screamed. But another voice matched his.

Glancing wildly around, the five DA members saw who had attacked the Death Eater.

"Professors!" Mary exclaimed.

"You were all shouting so loud; I imagine our Apparation was unheard," Dumbledore remarked. His gaze wondered over to the corner, where Oleta was still crouched, whimpering like a wounded dog. A cloud passed over his face. If anyone had told him that the woman who had been in labor for 10 hours and was able to eat two hearty meals directly afterwards would be reduced to a frightened, insane old woman in a hospital corner, he would have chuckled softly at the incredulity of it.

Nothing was incredulous. That was his mantra. It was something the first war had taught him.

Minerva visibly winced at the sight of her mother. This was Mummy. All of a sudden she was 5 years old again and had passed across a Muggle street, just narrowly missing being hit by a car. The same look of terror had been across Oleta's face then. The end of innocence starts with realizing that your parents aren't immovable barriers against everything.

"_Decido_," she muttered, and Neville landed with a plop on the ground. Tony ran to help him up.

Dumbledore went for Oleta. She stared at him blankly as he stood over her and offered his hand. She looked at his hand for several seconds, before finally taking it and allowing him to help her up. She pulled her hand from his as soon as she was steady and looked away, staring at the wall.

He felt a horrible jerking in his chest that suddenly made breathing very hard to accomplish. He turned away.

"Neville, your dad…" Joan started.

All eyes turned to Neville, who suddenly seemed to lose control of his muscles. He grabbed Tony's arm in an effort to support himself, all blood draining from his face. He couldn't bear to look at his father or at his mother, who had been reduced to a sobbing mess.

Minerva went forward, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Oleta and knelt by Frank's limp body.

"_Reperire vita_," she whispered. White sparks crackled from her wand tip, before turning black. Minerva shook her head and sheathed her wand again. She looked up at the white-faced Neville, resign written all over her face.

"I'm sorry."

A huge sob suddenly broke free from Neville's throat. Tears started violently as Alice began moaning heartbreakingly. Tony felt a jerk behind his eyes, almost as if he was going to start crying, too. He wrapped his arms around Neville's neck and pulled him into his shoulder.

Dumbledore moved swiftly, guiding the dog-woman and Alice to their feet to join Oleta.

"We must move quickly," he murmured. "Before any more people have to die…"

* * *

'A group full of Hufflepuffs,' Emmanuela minded. 'A group full of attached Hufflepuffs.'

Indeed, they were all attached by the hands in a single-file line. "Safety in numbers" was a Hufflepuff motto. Ernie ostensibly led the group, though it was Hannah, white-faced as she may be, who was steadily pulling them along and pushing Ernie ahead. Susan had a hold of Hannah's other hand, and she was holding on to Justin. Emmanuela was final in line; she had a death grip on Justin's hand. Much tighter than it needed to be, she knew, but whenever she tried to loosen her hold she found it impossible. Furthermore impossible was resisting this rising feeling of bile in her throat at seeing Susan also clinging to Justin.

She forced her mind from it. There were more important things to do now.

"Ernie, do you think…do you think we'll see anyone here? Do you think the Death Eaters have moved on?" Hannah whispered in a small, frightened voice.

"W-well, maybe that's right, Hannah," Ernie said, attempting an unconcerned, confident voice, but unconsciously holding Hannah's hand tighter.

"My Aunt Amelia says to never be surprised by the Death Eaters," Susan spoke up. "She's says that that's how my Uncle Edgar and Aunt Pamela and my cousins Lewis and Philip were killed…they thought they were safe…" she trailed off.

"Well, that won't happen here," Justin said, attempting the brave smile that Emmanuela loved. "Just keep your eyes peeled."

"Is that a Muggle saying?" Ernie asked.

"Yeah, my mum says it all the time," Justin said.

"It sounds strange."

"Yeah, I know."

Just then, the sound of a shouted curse reached them. Ernie yanked Hannah to the ground, starting a domino effect. Hannah collapsed onto him, Susan on to her, Justin on to her, and Emmanuela onto him. She just had to grin. She'd been in love with Justin for a year and this was just too funny.

"Are you all okay?" Ernie asked.

"Yeah," was the unanimous assent. They slowly got to their feet, their hands unlinking. Emmanuela hung on for a moment longer, but eventually dropped Justin's hand and brought out her wand.

"Well…let's go," Ernie said, nearly inaudible, and the five rushed into the 1st-floor lobby.

* * *

They weren't doing too badly, if you asked Olivia. She, Marcie, Thomas, Margaret, and Bennie had been battling in the 1st-floor lobby for several minutes, at least 15, and had thus far gotten off with only Thomas's green eye, due to a badly-aimed Furnunculus Curse.

Olivia pointed her wand and opened her mouth, but just as her vocal chords moved to shout the jinx, someone else yelled, "_Tarentellegra_!"

The Death Eater's legs began to scramble haphazardly, and Marcie couldn't help thinking of that Muggle play, 42nd Street. She snorted a laugh halfway through her nose and her throat.

"Thanks, Marcie," Olivia said.

"No problem. _Stupefy_!"

Thomas, through his one good eye, and Margaret were battling in a corner with two other Death Eaters.

"_Obliviate_!" Thomas hollered, a white light emitting from his wand.

"_Protego_!" the Death Eater, a female this time, called back. "_Crucio_!"

Margaret and Marcie both shrieked as Thomas suddenly collapsed onto the floor, groaning in excruciating pain.

"_Serpensortia_!" the other Death Eater, a man, called, and this time Olivia squeaked as a snake suddenly shot from the Death Eater's wand. But this was no snake like Draco had produced four years ago.

This was a rattlesnake, but the most unusual rattlesnake they had ever seen. Its skin was bright yellow in color, shining brightly as it sneaked forward. Its tomato-red eyes glowed maliciously as the female Death Eater laughed, aiming due Thomas, still writhing on the floor in horrible agony.

The snake reared back. Margaret and Olivia raised their wands and made to curse…

"_Corté cabeza!_"

The laughter instantly stopped as the snake's head, mouth hanging open, flew across the room, and Thomas yelped at it struck him across the face, the fang creating a bloody gash across his cheek. In that moment the Death Eater's concentration was broken and he was free of the curse.

Justin had broken into the room ahead of Ernie, Hannah, Susan, and Emmanuela, his wand held before him and an intense glare for his countenance. Emmanuela ran up beside him and took his arm.

"Thomas, are you okay?" Ernie asked from behind Justin.

"I guess so," Thomas said, pressing his fingers to the straight line across his face, trying to stem the bleeding.

A loud, belting laugh from the Death Eaters distracted everyone's attention.

"Even that little nick is going to cost you," the male Death Eater said. "That thing's venom is enough to kill six men. Except it will take you a while. First it will slowly poison your blood stream until it completely mucks it all up and it can't flow anymore. Once your veins dam up your brain will start screaming for oxygen and you'll go insane until you finally kick it. Less painful than the Cruciatus Curse but infinitely more entertaining to watch. I'll give you…

"The next 80 years to live," a quiet voice said. "_Inconsciente_!"

He suddenly seized up and a glazed look came into his eyes. The woman Death Eater jumped away as he fell to the floor, revealing Amy Lloyd standing behind him, her arm set in a sling, and the open side door behind her.

"I asked Andy where you guys were and snuck out," Amy explained.

"Hey, Amy," Thomas muttered, sinking to his knees. His flesh seemed to be turning to ice before their eyes.

"Thomas!" Amy called frantically, running towards him.

"_Incendio Semper_!"

All of them shrieked and jumped back a ring of red-hot fire suddenly shot from the woman's wand, entrapping the woman and Thomas behind a ring of flames.

"_Agua_!" Amy yelled, backed up by Marcie.

"Don't bother," the woman called back gleefully as the water from their wands turned into steam. "These flames will last for as long as I want them to. Try and get through them and you will burn your flesh off your bones. Oh, but I do pity you. Time's ticking away to save this little blood traitor's life, and you can't do anything about it…"

Thomas's green eye was now matching the color of his skin. "Amy…"

Amy's entire frame blanched as the flames leapt higher and the woman's insane laughter reached new heights of Soprano.

Almost unconsciously, Margaret, Marcie, Olivia, and Emmanuela had surrounded Amy, the others hanging back.

"Plan all you want to!" the woman called. "It won't help!"

"I'm getting through those flames," Amy said, with a quiet conviction so known to her.

"You can't get through my spell!"

"If we can spray you down with water…" Olivia started.

"…While you're going through the flames, you won't get quite as badly burned," Olivia and Marcie finished in unison.

"I'll help you with that," Marcie offered.

"Yeah, me too," Margaret offered.

"The rest of us will distract her," Olivia said. "I'll fill in the others as you're going through the flames."

"And then you take Thomas back to the Tonks'," Emmanuela finished.

"Got it," Amy said, nodding.

The girls broke away and moved into positions, almost as if their strategy was more than just a throwing-together of ideas in 10 seconds.

"Brainstorming over, girls?" the woman asked. "I suppose Fire equals Bad is too much for you to comprehend."

Amy squinted against the bright flames, and then suddenly began running straight at them, the insults falling on deaf ears.

"What are you doing?" Panic was beginning to sneak into her voice. "What are you doing, stupid girl!?"

"_Agua_!" Margaret and Marcie yelled almost unanimously.

Amy was suddenly drenched in the water, and the force of the river emitting from Margaret and Marcie's wands was shoving her through the flames. She felt a mind-numbing heat as she passed through the fire, so hot it was cold, and she shivered violently as she vaulted through the flames.

She landed on her injured arm with a sickening crunch, and her mind suddenly froze. She could hear were Emmanuela's and Olivia's shrieks of "_Vuelas_!" and "_Furnunculus_!" and the woman's screams of "_Protego_" and various curses, but her mind did not register.

"Amy!"

And her mind was brought back; moaning softly she reached her good arm for Thomas's and pulled herself to him. Her fingers hooked around his arm like fishing hooks.

"Okay, Thomas…we're getting out of here."

She suddenly vaulted to her feet, dragging him with her, and before anyone else could move or speak they were launching through the flames, heedless of their skin peeling, not even aware of landing face first on the ground. They were unconscious before they landed. Darkness consumed them just as Olivia yelled, "_Stupefy_" and the woman, caught unawares, stumbled backwards into the wall, cracking her head, and slumped to the ground.

* * *

Voldemort glanced casually about the room. This was the hospital that he had been born in, the hospital his mother had died in, the hospital that had fostered him out after running some simple blood tests on his paternity.

'What a waste of a carbon-based life-form,' Voldemort thought idly, with just a trace of anger, thinking about the man that he laughingly called "Father", the man whom he had cursedly been named after.

'Thank God that Alex was not named after our dear old dad,' he thought.

Alex. He hadn't thought of him in so long. He felt something upon that realization. Was it guilt that his memories of his brother had long since been pushed aside? Was it that sentiment his Death Eaters so looked down on; the bonds of family through connections other than marriage and pure bloodlines?

'Ah, well, it makes no matter,' Voldemort thought, brushing the thought aside. But the feeling persisted, an incessant nag on his brain. It had started earlier today, upon encountering the Sunset girl, his own great-niece, and had remained with him for the few hours that had passed.

'Enough,' he mentally ordered himself.

He glanced up as he heard a door being wrenched open and banging against the outside wall. Standing before him, panting and red-faced underneath a mess of black hair, was Harry Potter, his foil.

"Hello, Harry," he said quietly. "Been having a pleasant time with my Death Eaters?"

"You go to Hell," Harry hissed venomously, putting Voldemort in the mind of Nagini in a bad mood.

Voldemort laughed, chilling the blood of Ron, Ginny, Colin, and Dennis who appeared behind Harry, looking even more out of breath. "I've been to Hell, and Satan's a fairly dull fellow."

"Shut up! _Inutil_!"

Voldemort carelessly swiped his right hand in the air, taking on the brunt of the purple hex. The hand fell limp at his side, but he paid it no attention.

"You certainly have improved since our last battle," he commented. "My hand will be useless for no less than a day. But I only need one hand to kill you. _Avada Kedavra_!"

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!!" Harry shrieked, thrusting his wand into the air as hard as he could. Scintillating green light ejected from both wands' tips; they clashed in the middle, creating one thin, intimidating green line.

Harry heard Ginny gasp loudly as _Priori Incantatem_ began to take its affect. From either side of Voldemort's wand, tangible matter began to peal out. Harry squinted against the light and saw the silver hand Voldemort had rewarded Wormtail with fall to the ground.

Ron audibly yelped as Cedric Diggory clattered to the floor and then stood upright, quickly followed by the elderly Frank and then Bertha Jorkins.

What Harry was steeling himself for finally appeared, and he heard all four of his fellow members scream as a redheaded woman with almond-shaped green eyes painstakingly stood from the floor, and the mirror image of Harry followed.

"Harry," Lily whispered. "Harry, we'll distract him while you get away—"

"No," Harry said in a flat hiss.

"What?" the ghost James questioned.

"I'm doing what you did, Dad," Harry said through gritted teeth. "Standing and fighting."

"Harry…!" Ron yelped.

"I'M NOT LETTING HIM OFF THIS TIME!!"

With a renewed burst of adrenaline, Harry leaped forward. Voldemort gave a startled yell as the green line began to slowly snake its way down towards him. Sweat began to pour down Harry's forehead and into his eyes, mixing in his hair and sliding down his face. His vision were beginning to cloud even behind his glasses. He could barely hear his friends shouting or the shadows of Voldemort's victims trying to persuade him to run. All he knew was that Voldemort was in his grasp to kill, and he had to take this chance.

Harry was suddenly thrown backwards and onto the floor, the green light dissipated into thin air, and Voldemort was shoved back against the far wall. The shadows began to shrink back, receding in color and clarity.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Harry screamed lividly, his face turning into an unnatural glare at Ron. Ron had body-checked him and forced him down to the ground.

"What do you mean, "What am I doing"?!" Ron shouted back. "You were having a seizure! If you'd gone on for much longer, that connection would've broken, and you'd be dead!"

Harry quickly stood, followed by Ron.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

Ron forced Harry down again at such speed that they skidded along the white-washed floors with a horrible, deafening squeak. Ginny and Colin were screaming like an injured Banshee, screaming and sobbing at the same time.

"Oh, dear God," Ron whispered, his face blanching even more with each word as he stared at them. Dennis Creevy's small body had collapsed onto the floor, his eyes shut as though he had blinked just as his life force was taken from him in the time span of a breath.

Ron swore. "_Inconsciente_!"

Voldemort flicked it aside deftly with his wand. "The titchy brat," he muttered, letting his wand dangle carelessly. "Better off dead…wouldn't have lasted two minutes when the Darkness takes over…"

"SHUT UP!!" Colin screeched, so loudly his throat ached, his head feeling as though a hammer was slamming it as hard as it possibly could. "_C-Cruc—_!"

"NO!!" Ginny grabbed Colin around the neck and dragged him back, closing off his throat just before he could finish the curse.

"Ginny!" Colin gasped, trying to pry her arms from around his neck.

"Don't give him a reason to kill you, too!" Ginny whispered fiercely, her eyes squinted shut against the death she had just seen. "Don't let him kill you like…like my brothers were killed…"

A loud thud filled the air as the door was wrenched open again and banged on the wall. Dumbledore, Oleta, McGonagall, Alice, the dog-woman, Neville, Tony, Elizabeth, Mary, and Joan rushed into the room.

"Professors!" Ginny howled loudly. "He killed Dennis! He killed Dennis!"

Dumbledore's eyes flickered over to the dead boy and McGonagall softly gasped, her hands flying to her face. Dumbledore shut his eyes, then faced Voldemort.

"Someone else, then, Tom?"

"But of course, Dumbledore. My only regret is not hitting the others at the same time. Little wastes of flesh and dirty blood."

Dumbledore stood silently for a moment, and then his eyes slowly hardened, becoming a glacial, frightening ice-blue.

"All of you stand back," he muttered with a rock-hard voice, stepping forward, his wand pointed at an angle. ""Dirty blood", eh? Last time I checked, your blood was not so pure as it could be."

"A fling doesn't render a person "dirty" or "pure", Dumbledore," Tom said, with a patient air of one explaining long division to a 4th-grader. "The exploitation of magic among people who don't understand it, could never understand it fully…that's what renders a person "dirty"."

"You don't care, do you, Tom? You'd kill a Pureblood just as soon as the next Muggle-born. Anything to satisfy your blood lust."

"Well, I prefer to kill Mudbloods, but…I have no qualms about killing any Purebloods who stand in my way." Voldemort stopped swinging his wand like a pendulum and aimed it at Dumbledore, radiating cold, calculating, icy energy.

"_Someto_!" Dumbledore suddenly shouted, making the others jump as he stabbed the air with his wand a blue streak of light flew from the tip.

"_Protego_!" Voldemort shouted, and the spell reflected and disintegrated.

As Dumbledore released another spell, with Voldemort sending one back, Harry managed ot turn away from the sobbing Ginny and Colin, who each had hold of Dennis, and Ron and McGonagall, who were kneeling beside them, comforting them as best they could, and his eyes landed on Oleta.

The black-haired woman was watching the battle with a strange look in her eyes; the look of reaching comprehension but not quite there yet. Something about this battle was jogging her memory of her life before St. Mungo's. Harry reached forward and touched her arm. She turned and looked at him, her brilliant blue eyes filling with tears of frustration.

"You're…you're Oleta Dumbledore," Harry said quietly, so know one else could hear. "You have a husband named Albus and a daughter named Minerva. You taught my parents Defense Against Dark Arts at Hogwarts. You were a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You were incapacitated mentally by Voldemort and have lived in St. Mungo's for the past 17 years."

"I'm Oleta Dumbledore," she suddenly said, making Harry's insides jump. "I'm Oleta Dumbledore."

Voldemort viciously wiped a trickle of purple blood from his cheek and thrust his wand out at a straight angle.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

Time seemed to slow down…All they could see was the green light passing through the air like an arrow, headed straight for Dumbledore.

"I'M OLETA DUMBLEDORE!!"

Time suddenly split into slow and fast motion, McGonagall was screaming, a crack filled the air as Voldemort apparated away, laughing triumphantly, and a blinding green glow seemed to be filling the room.

It took its time going away, Harry coughed into his hand it cleared. He wiped his suddenly foggy glasses and squinted at the scene before him.

Oleta was limp just like Dennis was; she had fallen backwards into Dumbledore's arms and he had sunk to the floor, supporting her under her arms with his hands.

Harry felt himself brushed aside as McGonagall sped past him and clattered to the floor, dropping her wand.

"Dad, dad, she isn't…she can't be!" McGonagall whispered tortuously, incredulously. "Please, Dad, please tell me she…please, Dad!"

Harry's shock at McGonagall addressing Dumbledore as her father soon gave way as Dumbledore slowly raised his head. His blue eyes, much like Oleta's, seemed to be stuck in limbo, not quite living and not quite dead. McGonagall stared into his face until he could bare it no longer; he dropped his head and buried his face in Oleta's thick, black hair.

"Oh, DAD!" She grabbed onto Dumbledore and buried her face into his shoulder. "Mom…oh, God, Mommy…"

Harry stumbled backwards and felt the strength in his knees leave him. He sunk unconsciously to the ground, unable to blink, as he watched McGonagall keening over her lost mother.


	17. Falling and Rising

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter 

A/N-Finally back to some good old angsty romance!

* * *

Falling and Rising

* * *

Hermione Emma Granger was crying. But she wasn't Hermione Emma Granger. She had no name other than "It": "Feed it", "Change it", "Put it to bed", "Shut it up, will you!".

She was in the air, flying through the clouds, condensation gathering on her body, and then she was flailing her arms about, falling to earth, air sucked from her lungs. She was dangling inches above the ground, sharp nails digging into her ankle, devilish, livid curses filling her ears. She was cold and alone, wailing with starvation and fear. Then she was secure, a beautiful warmth filling her soul, settling her jangling nerves.

And suddenly she was screaming, crying, begging, shouting, defying...

"I will NEVER join you! I'd rather die!"

A hand was on her arm and she made to throw it off, but it held firmly. She flailed her arms wildly. Someone was calling her name. Hermione. Her real name. Not "It".

"Hermione. Hermione!"

Her eyes shot open; a glacial sweat suddenly broke over every aspect of her body. She rolled over on the bed and vomited onto the floor; emptying the contents of her stomach. Someone was jiggling the bed and the nauseous feeling overwhelmed her again. She began to retch, but nothing was coming out. She couldn't breathe.

"Hermione, Hermione! It's okay! It's me, it's Harry!"

She could finally see clearly as her body was flipped over to face upward. A pale, frightened face was above hers, a stark contrast to his jet-black hair and emerald-green eyes. She stared at him for a moment, and then flung her arms around him and burst into rakish sobs into his neck.

"Hermione, what's the matter?" Harry gasped, stroking her hair. "What happened?"

"A...a nightmare," she whispered in anguish.

"About what?"

"About...about my parents...all of them...I heard Paul and Demi being murdered again..."

He pried her arms from around his neck and laid her back in the bed, his hand on the side of her face.

"First, I...I was a baby again," she whispered. "And I was so cold and so hungry. We were escaping somewhere by broom and I fell from the basket they carried me in...I could've died before I even knew that I had a name other than "It"..."

"Shh," Harry ordered, gently but firmly, tracing patterns on her cheek.

"Th-that's why I'm afraid of heights, that's why I was so terrified to ride a broom or Buckbeak. I couldn't breathe!"

"That's enough, Hermione!"

She gave one startled, hyperventilating gasp that arched her back, then collapsed back onto the bed, her stomach rising and falling in shudders.

"It was just a nightmare, Hermione. I get them all the time."

Hermione seized his hand and squeezed it as though giving labor. "Does it ever stop? Do they ever go away, Harry? Those memories...do they ever just..."

"Shh!" Harry ordered again, and this time she obeyed. She shivered tremulously, and he began to stroke her hand.

"Just calm down," Harry said.

"Where have you been?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"At St. Mungo's," Harry said shortly, standing again. "Battling Voldemort."

"Is everyone okay!" Hermione yelped, sitting up straight.

"Lie down!" Harry commanded, leaning over the bed pressuring her shoulders so she lay down again.

"Is everyone okay?" Hermione repeated, looking extremely pale against the sheets despite her dark brown hair.

Harry visibly hesitated; Hermione gave a soft gasp. "Oh, God, what happened? Please tell me, Harry!"

"Parvati...Parvati was hit with a Permanent Engorging charm in her wand hand. Anais managed to stop the swelling but it will never recede. Madame Pomfrey says that the hand will never be useful again, and the only way to stop Parvati's pain is to...to amputate."

"And...and who else?" Hermione questioned fearfully.

"Seamus and Dean were nearly killed with Avada Kedavra; they're unconscious and we don't know how long they'll stay comatose. They could...they could be stuck as vegetables for the rest of their lives at worst; have no immune system at best."

"And...and anyone else?" Hermione asked slowly, tortuously.

"Thomas was poisoned; Madame Pomfrey is giving him some antivenin but we're not sure how effective it'll be. Amy...she went to the hospital without her arm being fully healed. She damaged it again and Madame Pomfrey says that she may have destroyed all her nerves. And it'll be a miracle if they survive, anyway. They both have 3rd-degree burns; it's destroyed most of their muscle and skin tissue."

"Jesus," Hermione whispered as though praying. "Was...did we...did we lose anyone? Forever?"

Harry kept his mouth closed but Hermione read his face.

"Who was it?" Her voice was as high and tinny as a mouse's might have been as the words passed through her mouth, barely touching her lips.

"We lost some St. Mungo's patients. One of the Death Eaters got up to the Closed Ward and...and Neville's dad was killed. And then Voldemort...I was battling him and I got knocked aside. He used the Killing Curse on Dennis Creevy..."

Tears were silently pouring down Hermione's face in a torrential flood. "Anyone else?"

Harry again hesitated. No one but he knew the full story of Oleta. Ginny, Colin, Neville, Tony, Mary, Elizabeth, and Joan could only speculate about what McGonagall had meant. Harry's own grief had been splayed all over the newspapers in his 4th year; the pain of knowing you will never see someone you love ever again. It wasn't right for Harry to distribute news of Dumbledore's grief if Dumbledore didn't want him to.

But Hermione was his girlfriend; he didn't want to hide anything from her.

"We lost someone that...that was very close to Dumbledore, just when the battle ended. There was no time to stop Voldemort; he apparated away just as he used _Avada Kedavra_."

"Do you know who it was?" Hermione asked softly.

"Not...not too personally," Harry answered. "I don't think Dumbledore wants to talk about it."

Hermione exhaled slowly. "Well...if Dumbledore doesn't want to talk about it..." She stopped talking abruptly; staring at Harry with wide eyes, the eyes of the undead. The full weight of everything that had happened while she was unconscious seemed to finally be crashing down upon her. She raised her arms beckoningly, a sick look on her face. Harry went forwards into her arms, and she pulled him down into a sitting position next to her. Swishing her hair behind her, she laid her head across his lap.

"I...I can't believe it. I knew...I knew that more people we loved would be hurt or killed...but when it actually happens..."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know." He began to gently stroke her hair.

"I...I killed someone today. I knew I might have to...I told myself I had to...but I killed someone. I actually killed someone. Just six syllables and a wand movement and someone was dead."

"You killed someone who would have killed you if you hadn't been quicker. You killed someone who has murdered before for the matter of bloodlines. You killed someone who ultimately deserved it, Hermione."

"I know that." There was a long beat of silence. "Did I ever tell you exactly what happened the night we were attacked, Harry?"

"No," he answered. "Just that your parents had been killed."

"I was upstairs," Hermione said clearly, her eyes dry, "doing some reading; watching the window for any signs of Crookshanks coming back..."

* * *

Hermione traced the edge of the paper with the feather quill, writing some notes. She enjoyed her Muggle summer classes, and it was easier now to read Julius Caesar when she had no homework from Hogwarts to take up her time.

Ding-Dong.

Hermione checked her watch. About 5: 30. Her father probably had some business guests coming over for dinner, she reasoned. He had been dropping hints at a possible promotion for some time now.

She shut her book and went to the door.

"I'll get it!" she hollered at her parents' closed door, and tramped neatly down the stairs, swung a left at the end of the banister, and went for the front door. She twisted the key, unlocking it, and pulled the door open.

Two people stared back at her, a man and a woman. The man was tall and skinny, with a pointed face and a countenance of an aristocrat finding himself near a rancid landfill. The woman next to him had the same face and demeanor, with her thin, curly brown hair swept back in a high ponytail.

"Hello," the woman said coldly. Something made Hermione's stomach to a quick swoop in mid-air and disappear. "Is this the Granger household?"

"Y-yes," Hermione said nervously. Something was off about this couple. They made her feel like she was about to face a Boggart.

"Do you recognize us?" the man asked.

"No." Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Sh-should I?"

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," the woman mused.

"Hermione, who's at the door, honey?" Demi walked into the room from the kitchen, drying her hands with a dish towel.

"I don't know, Mom," Hermione answered.

Demi finally turned her attention from her hands to the door. Seeing them made her drop the towel and her jaw.

"Oh, dear God," she whispered, her eyes widening like a deer in headlights. "No...God, no...you're in Azkaban...Paul? PAUL!"

"Demi, what the Devil's wrong?" Paul asked from up the stairs.

"Paul, get down here. It's...it's..."

Paul thundered down the stairs. "Demi, what's the matter..."

His reaction upon seeing them was much the same as Demi's. His jaw fell open, and his eyes widened to an impossible length.

"Mom, Dad, who are these people!" Hermione cried, frustrated.

"Aaron, get out of my house," Paul said, in a small, deadly voice.

"Tut, tut, is that anyway to talk to your brother and his wife?" the woman said airily.

"Belicia, it's obvious we're not welcome here," Aaron said. "Well then, Paul, if you don't mind, we'll just take our daughter and go."

"She's not your child!" Demi yelled, running forward and grabbing Hermione possessively by the arm. "You forfeited your rights to her when you abandoned her for your Dark Lord!"

Hermione's brain seemed to be swirling in a veritable whirlpool. Aaron and Belicia Granger. Her biological parents whom she hadn't seen since before she could remember were standing on her threshold, demanding her back.

"Oh, and I suppose she's your child then," Aaron remarked mildly. "She's your niece, Paul, and as her father, I'm appalled that she was left with filthy Muggles such as yourself. The disgrace of a good family and garbage off the street, raising my child!"

"I'M NOT YOUR CHILD!"

Hermione shook off Demi's hand and snatched up the lamp from the end table at the side of the couch. The outlet sparked as she yanked the plug from it.

"You left me for dead so you could go and get yourself in Azkaban!" Hermione shouted, feeling her eyes fill to the brim of her eyelids with tears. "I could have starved! I could have contracted hypothermia! And you dare come back here, calling me your daughter! Go back to Hell!"

She reared back her arm.

"Hermione!" Demi gasped, but even Demi could not reach Hermione's frenzied, raging mind. Her arm snapped forward and her sweating fingers released the lamp.

A flash of surprise went across Aaron's face just before he released his wand and twisted it in mid-air. The lamp stopped and hovered for a spilt-second before changing course and connecting solidly with Hermione's head.

Hermione screamed and feel to the floor, her hands barely covering the humongous gash in her skull as the blood dripped into her eyes, obscuring her vision. The pain was so great; she could barely feel Paul's hand as it grabbed her arm, or hear Demi screaming her name.

"That's the least of it!" Belicia shrieked. "Wait for when we get a hold of Potter!"

Potter. Something clicked in Hermione's mind. They were going after Harry when they were done here. She would die here and her biological parents would go after her best friend.

"Hermione, get upstairs!" Paul yelled, throwing her back and stepping forward, Demi at his side, blocking Hermione's view of Aaron and Belicia.

"If anything happens to us," Demi whispered, "climb out our fire escape and run to the nearest wizard's house. Contact Dumbledore and get to your friend."

"Mom..."

"NOW!"

Without another word Hermione took off up the stairs. As she neared the top of the steps she heard Aaron shout a curse that caused Demi to scream and Paul to swear loudly; as she shut her door she heard the sounds of breaking glass.

There was a furious pecking at her window as she locked her door, knowing that it would not help her should they come upstairs. She launched herself across her room and threw open the window. Pigwidgeon collapsed into her room and a red letter fell to the floor from his beak. Hermione scooped it up and furiously tore it open.

"Hermione, it's Fred!" a frenzied, panicky male voice yelled. "Grimmauld Place was attacked. They got...they got Bill and Percy. Everyone else is...is hurt real bad. Mum's conscious, she says that they're going to attack you and Harry next, Sirius's mother told them where you guys are. GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE NOW AND WARN HARRY!"

"That's what I'm doing!" Hermione shouted futilely at the Howler. She flattened out the folded letter and snatch up her mechanical pencil. Blood from her forehead fell like rain onto the paper as she wrote, which she wiped across the paper in a failed effort to clear it away. She didn't have time to get her wand; she could only scratch her pencil against the paper until the lead began to lessen.

"Harry, get away from there now! The Death Eaters are coming to kill your aunt! They found the Order's HQ and blew it apart, but they got Sirius's mother's portrait to tell them were you are first! Get your family and run NOW, or you'll all be dead! They'll get here right after Pigwidgeon does! GO! NOW!"

She re-sealed the letter. As she licked the envelope close another patch of blood fell from her head and onto the envelope. Pigwidgeon hooted unhappily as Hermione shoved the blood-stained part into his mouth but he didn't drop it. He merely flapped his wings twice for lift-off.

As he took off out the window, Hermione distinctly heard Belicia shriek, "_CRUCIO_!"

Hermione and Demi screamed in the same voice. Something crashed again; Paul gave an agonized shout, followed by a thump, and Aaron's laughter. Demi continued shrieking and now accompanied it by sobbing.

Hermione's stomach seemed to be suddenly on ice, and her throat was constricting. She vaulted across the room and yanked on her doorknob. Demi was still screaming and crying as Hermione fumbled with the lock. Her fingers slipped from the lock several times before she finally got a solid hold on it, twisted it, and jerked the door back. Without stopping for her wand, she sprinted from the room and down the stairs, nearly falling all over her feet.

Demi's screams stopped just as Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs, but they were continued with Hermione's shriek.

Paul was lying in heap on the floor, the splintered leg from the broken end table jutting through him, impaled in his collar bone. Demi was sitting upright against the wall, but if anything she looked worse. All color and fullness was drained from her face, her white skin was stretched across her bones, and her hazel eyes had multiplied three times their natural length. As Hermione watched, she gave one violent twitch like a dying bird, and then slid sideways onto the floor, her eyes still open from terror and pain.

"Well, she was a...em..."pistol", as Muggles says, wasn't she?" Belicia commented mildly. "Took a bit, I'm afraid I'm out of practice."

She looked at Hermione. "Darling, your face will be cemented like that if you keep it up," she remarked, raising her eyebrows at Hermione's face, which now mirrored Demi's. "Don't worry your head about those Muggles. They've gone straight back to Hell where all the Muggles will be when we're through with them. Sweet Satan, quit staring with that beached-fish look on your face. We'll forgive you for that lamp-throwing episode and clean you up if you come with us now."

"GO TO HELL!" Hermione screeched, clasping the banister so that her knees would not give way. "I will NEVER join you! I'd rather die!"

Belicia raised her eyebrow. "Oh, it's to play out like that, eh? Well, we can't have you blurting out our dirty little secret everywhere, can we?"

"Surely we can coax her, Belicia," Aaron said, with a smug smile that indicated he was merely toying with his daughter.

"The Dark Lord does not want unwilling servants, Aaron," Belicia said briskly. She whipped her wand into the air. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

* * *

Hermione began to tremble violently. Harry put his hand on her shoulder and leaned so his head rested upon hers.

"I survived, though...I had partial protection. Paul and Demi died from the Cruciatus Curse because they have no ounce of magic in them, not even Paul. I survived Avada Kedavra because she had no practice with a wand, and my magic resisted it, and also because...because they indirectly died for me, I'll have at least partial protection from Aaron and Belicia for the rest of my life."

Harry seemed at a loss for words. Mutely, he took her hand and gripped it.

"I woke up in Fred and George's shop some time later, and my first thought was of you. Something in me told me that I needed you...only you, even though Ron and Ginny were right there. Only you could help me heal...that, right then, was when I realized I loved you. You and I share a life together...and now a loss together. If you couldn't do it, I'm sure I'd have eventually ended up old and alone. When you kissed me, it was a tiny ray of hope that I could feel better again. I'd lost the world but gained you."

"A poor trade-off," Harry murmured.

Hermione made a small noise.

"What made me kiss you," Harry continued, "was that I was so afraid of watching you hurt. You looked so helpless, and I couldn't bear that thought. I wanted to take you away from what you had gone through, like no one had ever taken me away from what I had gone through. And kissing you was the only thing I could think of. Funny that it should be a kiss, though. Had it been Ginny or Luna, a hug would have sufficed. Maybe I had been in love with you for awhile but just didn't realize it."

Hermione gave a laugh that turned into a sob. She buried her face in Harry's leg before resurfacing.

"We make a good pair, don't we, Harry?" she asked in a small voice.

"We do," Harry answered, turning his head so he could plant a kiss on her. She turned her head up at the same time; they managed to touch lips softly together. It didn't bother either when the other began to cry.

* * *

Snape sat in the same room Andromeda had housed them in prior to the battle. Petunia was with him, staring at the far wall. Remus was also with them, quietly sipping some tea that Andromeda, in her fit of nerves while they had been away, had made. Tonks was pacing the room in spasmodic patterns with no rhyme or reason.

"Nymphadora," Remus said. "What are you doing?"

"It's "Tonks", Remus, just "Tonks". And nothing's wrong; I'm just running on nervous energy."

"Bull, Tonks."

Tonks stopped with one foot but kept walking with the other, accidentally kicking herself and stumbling forward. Remus started up, but Tonks straightened herself out and waved her hand dismissively.

"I'm okay, Remus."

"Tonks," Remus said softly. "What's wrong?"

Tonks sighed. "Why can't I pull one over on you?"

"It's love, love," Remus replied coyly.

Tonks laughed, but there was something lacking in her mirth. She went over to the couch and sat next to him, taking his hand and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I've been thinking," Tonks said. "About how we're gonna tell my parents that...that I asked you..."

Remus sent a glance over at Snape and Petunia, sending a facial message to Tonks and asking her whether she wanted them to know about the bite he had given her 5 days ago.

"Yeah...and then I was thinking about that baby that Anais's group rescued. According to Lavender, she has no parents and I doubt we'll ever find relatives, as we don't know who the parents were and probably will not be allowed to inspect the bodies once the Ministry's Forensics Unit confiscate them. So I was thinking about us...maybe...taking in the baby if...if..."

Remus looked away. When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of a thousand worlds on it.

"We can't."

"Why?"

"The Werewolf Registry keeps track of all the werewolves in the world." He turned his head, lowered his voice, and spoke directly to her so that only she could hear. "The Ministry decreed years before I was born that no single werewolf could adopt anyone under the age of 13. And that no werewolf couple could ever adopt at all."

Tonks's jaw dropped. "You're not serious?"

"You never knew?"

"We only learned about tracking and stunning werewolves, not about their legal rights to adoption! So, you're saying that if we want children, we'd have to have our own?" She was heedless of Petunia and Snape in the room.

"God knows that the entire planet would be against us then. First of all, there's our age difference. We run the risk of not having kids at all just by that, or having kids with their own problems. And even if we had the luck to have a healthy child," his voice took on a bitter ring, "the Ministry would be quite justified in taking the child away, if something as stupid as a "Disturbing the Peace" charge was against us."

"You're kidding." Tonks looked away, her eyes misting over. "You can't possibly be serious..."

Remus breathed heavily. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face him again, two clear tears running down her face.

"I'm quitting, Remus," she said quietly. "I'll keep on teaching at Hogwarts, but I won't work in a Ministry that would deny an Auror and a teacher the right to have their own children."

Remus said nothing, but kept on massaging her shoulder. She twisted her body so she was leaning into him, her face buried in his neck. He moved his hand so it rested on her head and gently stroked her hair.

Snape's inside gave a small jolt as something suddenly seized his hand. He looked at his hand, and then followed the arm up. In the rocking chair next to the recliner he had taken, Petunia had taken his hand. Her face was drawn into a small, mournful smile. With a corner of his mouth twitched up, he laid his other hand across hers, and she followed suite.

"Severus," she said quietly, as a new song began to play on the WWN. "About that child...what if we take her in?"

""We"? Snape repeated, taken aback. "As in, the both of us jointly raise that child?"

Petunia looked away, but her grip on his hands didn't lessen. "Yes. I always fancied a daughter. When we were dating I used to dream of us having children together."

"Just earlier you were afraid to start things up again."

She took a few minutes to answer. Her eyes rested on Remus and Tonks, still bound closely together through shared grief. Snape was accustomed to silence and waited for her, wondering what she could possibly say, and minding that his heart was beating a little faster than it had in several years.

"I...I want the same thing they want," she said quietly, looking back at him. "I want the house with the stupid picket fence, I want the two children and a cat, and I want someone to share it with me. I've lived with my sister's death and the loss of all I've loved for nearly 20 years...and I'm sick of waiting for it to come back on its own. If I can rid the world of malignant evil with you...I think I can start up a life with you."

Snape smirked, and Petunia let out a bark of a laugh, her eyes beginning to glisten again. "See, I can amuse you, just like when were dating."

"You've always amused me, even when I was the supremacist snotrag," Snape muttered.

"Well, supremacist maybe, but I'm not sure about snotrag." Her smile had become genuinely happy, but a fresh tear fell down her cheek.

"Stop crying," he ordered, gruff but kind. He reached out a hand and flicked the tear away with his thumb. "I'm sick of you being depressed all the time. We've both had enough of it."

Petunia caught his hand before he could bring it down again. She brought it to her lips and kissed his knuckles, still staring at him. Then, she drifted her hand and his down. Leaning forward in her chair, she arched over the space between his and her seats, shut her eyes, and kissed him exactly like the last time she had, back in their 7th year, before the world had become their problem.

* * *

Lynn had been up and about for quite a bit. She was tough, something she liked about herself. She had the uncanny ability to get over most injuries.

This injury was different, though. It went beyond the Cruciatus Curse and focused on who had given it to her.

She had liked Draco a lot, enough to give her heart to him, first infatuated with his looks, and later thoroughly convinced that his rudeness and outright cruelty had been a mask all along. She had kept up the furious hope that there was more to him than met the eye, that he was really, as she put it, "a cuddly, misunderstood bunny".

But this went beyond what she could reasonably brush aside as a façade. He had used an Unforgivable Curse on her when she had been trying to help him. The talk that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater-in-training suddenly seemed so much more real, not something she could dismiss as rumor-mongering.

She sat down finally after aimless wandering around, crossed her legs, folded her arms, and stared at the floor.

"What's up, Lynn?"

Lynn looked up and broke into a smile. Gibson Aldo had entered the room, grinning. She had liked Gibson a lot since meeting him in their 5th year.

"Oh, nothing," Lynn answered. "I just heard about St. Mungo's from Professor Tonks."

Gibson's grin vanished, and he swore quietly. "Yeah, we lost Dennis Creevy. I'm glad you weren't there, Gibson, it was pretty bad."

"Well, it was a battle, I think it'd be bad," Lynn answered sarcastically.

"You know what, Lynn?" Gibson started as if beginning a fight, but grinned again. "Yeah, you're right." And his smile dropped. "I didn't think we'd lose anyone so soon, y'know? Dennis was just a kid. 3 years younger than us."

"Yeah, I know," Lynn said.

"It'll be nice to get a piece of the Death Eaters before we go out, won't it, though?"

"Yeah..." Lynn said distractedly.

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered," Gibson said. "That Draco kid you like; did you know he's here?"

"WHAT?" Lynn jumped up, looking stricken. "He's HERE?"

"Yeah, Tonks and Bennie found him on their spy mission."

"Are you taking the mickey on me? Which room is he in!"

Gibson shrugged. "Dunno, I just heard that he was locked up here somewhere. I wouldn't bother about him, Lynn. He's a prat."

Lynn's anger flared, out of habit this time, and she sat down, arms crossed, chewing her bottom lip.

"Listen, I heard that dinner will be ready soon. Why not come on up with me?"

Lynn wanted to refuse, but the conflict of heart over stomach was not an easy victory for the heart. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, in fact, she'd originally come out looking for food as soon as she was sure that Madame Pomfrey had left the vicinity. Her body and soul ached, making the need for food that much greater.

"Oh, fine," Lynn said, throwing up her hands.

"Great." Gibson smiled at her as she rose. He held the door open for her, and they walked together up towards the dining room.

* * *

Dumbledore looked over the papers he was filling out. They were merely memos and news for the Order.

Belicia had broken out in the confusion of the battle. The Forensics Unit of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement had picked up Aaron's body, and several more Junior Aurors were handling the fallen Death Eaters into Azkaban. Some Death Eaters had escaped; they'd have to be on the lookout for revenge tactics. Bellatrix was one of them. He'd have to inform Harry and Hermione about Bellatrix and Belicia.

The most unusual thing they had found was a gleaming, ornate silver hand, lying abandoned on the Quidditch field near Lucius's lost arm. This hand sat before him now, just waiting to be inspected, but now Dumbledore had no energy to investigate it. He had no usable energy left beyond scratching his quill against parchment until the ink ran dry.

3 people they had lost today. Frank Longbottom. A talented Quidditch Seeker in his day, forever cracking jokes. Dennis Creevy. A little hyperactive boy full of ideas that life could be just and fair.

And Oleta.

Her body was laid out on the couch near the desk in this room. Minerva knelt beside her, holding her hand, eyes hollow but mostly dry. Though he could barely stand to look at her, her image was engraved in his mind. Flashes of Oleta kept coming back to him, each one tearing at him with more viciousness than the next.

Oleta in June of 1937, the end of their 3rd year, knitting socks for the Hogwarts House-Elves while she reviewed her Charms notes, sticking out her tongue and refusing to answer Dumbledore's questions as to her name, laughing loudly at his proclamation that her name would henceforth be "Socks".

Oleta in January of 1941, coming to him with tears in her eyes to announce the news of her pregnancy after her boyfriend had completely broken it off with her.

Oleta in September of that same year, battling her way through 10 hours of labor with only his hand to hold on to, and the look of pure joy upon seeing Minerva placed in her arms.

Oleta in September on 1945, walking down the aisle with 4-year-old Minerva beside her, her face shining like an angel's as she approached the altar, putting the horrors of the war behind them.

Oleta in 1977, nervously gripping his hand as they inducted 36-year-old Minerva into the Order of the Phoenix, the first member besides themselves to join the Order.

Oleta in 1987, her eyes wiped as clean as her memories as he tried to shake life back into her on the floor of their living room.

Oleta tonight, with the look of comprehension finally on her face, as she threw herself into the line of fire to protect him from Voldemort's Avada Kedavra Curse.

Already he could feel the protection that she had just presented him with. He, like Harry, would be safe from Voldemort, at least until Minerva's blood was taken by Voldemort.

But what was this protection worth without Oleta still living? He would have gladly taken death over watching her sacrifice herself for him, over watching Minerva shatter at the loss of her parent.

"Dad?"

His thoughts were startled out of themselves at McGonagall's voice. She was finally looking up at him, Oleta's hand still clutched in her own.

"Are you all right?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I can't say that I am, Minerva."

"...Yes..."

Dumbledore looked down at his notes again.

"Dad?"

He looked up again. "What is it, Minerva?"

She has walked across the room and now stood in front of the desk, watching him with her piercing, hawk-like gaze, but the severity had now dropped into mourning.

"I...I'm sorry I stopped calling you "Dad". I don't even know my biological father's name."

"I have long since forgotten," Dumbledore answered softly. "I'm sorry I cannot help you there."

"I don't want to know it," McGonagall answered sharply. "I'm just sorry that I let my imaginary father replace you. You were more parent to me than he could possibly dream to be."

Dumbledore reached out and covered her hand with his bony one. McGonagall noted how frail and weak his hands seemed now. The thought made her heart break. With her free hand she rubbed at her eyes, trying to prevent tears. His grip on her hand tightened.

Andromeda pushed open the door, the book clutched to her chest, but she stopped when she saw them. Her eyes glanced over at Oleta, and then at Dumbledore and McGonagall. Something in her mind began to click and the pieces began to fall in place about what Oleta, her old Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, meant to both Dumbledore and McGonagall. Just as silently as she had entered she exited, shutting the door behind her. A full report could wait, the re-forging of her two old professors' bond could come first.

* * *

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow..." Amy muttered.

"Well, I should think it hurts!" Madame Pomfrey clucked indignantly, making sure the bandages were tight around her arm. "Honestly, running through fire with a dislocated arm! You'll be quite lucky if you haven't destroyed your muscle and skin tissues completely, as it is, you're looking at life with a sling for several years. I certainly hope it was worth it."

"It was," Amy said quietly.

Madame Pomfrey sniffed disbelievingly, patted the bandages and seemed grimly satisfied when Amy winced, and then swept away. Parvati was sitting upright in a four-post canopy bed, tears of agony forming in her eyes. Madame Pomfrey sucked on the fleshy inside of her cheek as she picked up the hand, mentally shielding herself from Parvati's squeak.

"There's no doubt about it. The hand has to come off."

"Can...can I get a new one?" Parvati whimpered.

"I can re-grow bones, Miss Patil, not whole appendages," Madame Pomfrey said with a sigh.

"Doesn't she have to wait for permission from our parents to get it cut off?" Padma asked. She sat beside Parvati, clutching her good hand, her face white.

"No, part of the Hogwarts rules that are agreed to upon the student attending is that I have complete authority to perform any medical procedure, including surgery."

All blood seemed to drain from Parvati's face.

"I can't take you to St. Mungo's now, the place will be crawling with Ministry imbeciles and they'll never let you into the Operating Room," Madame Pomfrey mused. "And we can't wait, either, the swelling is preventing circulation and God knows that it could eventually ruin your entire bloodstream."

"You have to do it now? Here!"

"I'm afraid so," Madame Pomfrey said. "If only I had a sterile Operating Room..."

The words had barely passed her lips and suddenly, the entire room shifted. The occupants screamed as the bed Parvati and Padma sat on suddenly turned into a cold operating table, and Parvati's clothes suddenly transformed into a hospital gown.

"Oh, my...a Room of Requirement..." Madame Pomfrey said faintly. "If this isn't Heaven-sent, I have no idea WHAT is..."

"S-so, you're going to operate...now?" Padma breathed, sliding off the table but still clutching Parvati's hand.

"I have to. Miss Patil, you take Miss Lloyd and sojourn to the dining room; I think dinner is almost ready. Now, if only I had some anesthesia..." A vial of clear, thick liquid suddenly appeared next to her, a hypodermic needle next to it, and then a pair of surgical gloves. "Miss Patil, Miss Lloyd, NOW, if you please..."

Amy and Padma slowly made their way across the room and towards the door. They crossed the threshold in one step, both silent. Madame Pomfrey's voice washed over them.

"All right, if you'd just count backwards from ten."

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...s-six...fi..." Parvati's voice dropped off, and Padma burst into hysterical tears.

* * *

Draco's eyes opened, his head pounding. The room he was in was unfamiliar. It was black in color, with a small window letting in the moonlight and starlight.

His cousin and some girl he didn't know had kidnapped him and Petrified him. But where was he?

He winced at a tug in his throat and looked at his hands. They were ghostly pale and stretched across his bones so tight that he might as well have been a skeleton. His fingernails were suddenly longer and pointed like daggers, just begging anyone to come closer.

He was so hungry...

He felt his blood pounding in his ears. It was still there, he knew it. If it came to this, he HAD to feed off himself. There was no way he couldn't...

He threw his hand up towards his face and opened his mouth, as two knife-like fangs sank into his palm. Blood squirted over his hand as he noisily sucked from his palm. The mess would clean, he just had to feed now before he starved...

* * *

All right, now I feel I should give you an explanation about Draco. According to Elizabeth's observations, I'll bet I led some of you to think that he was a werewolf, right? Well, nope, Draco is a vampire. Not a traditional vampire in which you can't walk outside in the sunlight; I don't see how the vampires mentioned every now and then in canon can survive then. However, he does need to wear dark clothes, something that has been happening but I didn't draw attention to. He's traditional in the fact that he has to drink blood to survive, but untraditional in the fact that he has his own blood still. 


End file.
